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The reason most butterflies visit flowers in the first place is to sip nectar. Some flowers have more of the sweet fluid than others do, and various butterflies seem to have their own favorite kinds of blossoms.
I noticed a wild vervain plant growing along the Mississippi River that was attracting dozens of tiny least skipper butterflies while other blossoms nearby went neglected, at least by the skippers. The larger silver spotted skippers have been sipping from a variety of blossoms all summer long.
But whatever plant they choose and whichever type of butterfly it is, the feeding procedure is virtually the same: the butterflies sip the nectar through a straw-like, flexible tube called the proboscis. When not extended into the blossom, the proboscis is kept coiled up near the butterfly’s face.
Despite the “nose” connotation of the word proboscis, the organ does not smell or taste — that function is carried out by the butterfly’s antennae and by their feet. Hmmm.
The proboscis also is used to sip moisture from wet soil or puddles. I have even seen some butterflies dipping their proboscis into various kinds of animal dung. Some think that mineral or salts in the soil or other materials might help improve the fertility of the males.
Hummingbird moths
A few kinds of moths also have a straw-like proboscis. Around here, one that I see often in mid to late summer is the hummingbird moth (Hemaris thysbe).
It hovers near flowers looking very much like its namesake, even making a subtle humming sound. It has a nearly two-inch wingspan and the whirring wings have clear patches surrounded by red borders of varying extent.
The thorax is olive green or tan and the abdomen has reddish bands on it. It has what one person described as a “lobster-like tail,” which is actually a tuft of hairs.
Unlike most moths, the pretty hummingbird moths are very active in the daytime. As they hover near a blossom, they uncoil the proboscis like a butterfly and sip the nectar. I found many hummingbird moths feeding on bergamot in Russland Coulee Experimental Forest near Barre Mills.
One briefly visited a bull thistle blossoming nearby, but the tubular flowers of the bergamot got by far the most attention. The moths seemed to ignore red clover, daisies, goldenrod, Queen Ann’s Lace and a number of other wildflowers growing nearby.
Hummingbird moths belong to a familiar group of moths, the sphinx or hawk moths. These are aerodynamic looking, rather narrow winged, speedy moths that often whir and bang around porch lights on warm summer nights.
Some have bright coloring on the hind wings, which only shows when the moth spreads the wings. The forewings, which cover the hind wings when the insect is resting, are well camouflaged to hide the insect. If discovered by a predator, opening the wings to expose the brightly patterned hind wings could presumably frighten or distract a pursuer long enough to give time for escape.
Bumblebees
Bumblebees also visit flower blossoms to sip nectar but they have a different system than that of the butterflies and moths. The bumblebees have a long tongue with a hairy absorbent tip. The tongue is protected and pushed into the flower by sheath-like mouthparts called the palpi and maxillae. When the bee extends this orange triangular sheath into the blossoms, the tongue is extended into the nectar to soak it up.
The sheath looks sort of like knife or drill, but it is only used for sipping. We have 19 species of bumblebees in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Some are around an inch long while others are much smaller. Some are the typical black and yellow, but others have distinctive reddish bands on their abdomens.
It seemed like all 13 Wisconsin species were buzzing around in a patch of spotted knapweed growing near a flowage in Jackson County last week. I had a lot of fun like I did last year trying to catch the bees in flight with my camera, a very difficult task. In the end, I grew intrigued by the variety of species I saw and the interesting way they fed.
Like the butterflies, the bumblebees were quite particular about the blossoms they preferred, spending considerably more time on the spotted knapweed and virtually ignoring the plentiful yellow goldenrod all around.
In Sidie Hollow County Park in Vernon County, many bumblebees were zeroing in on some everlasting peas that were growing along the road to the boat landing. The bees crawled eagerly over the beautiful pink blossoms, some packing pollen into pollen baskets on the legs as honeybees do. Like honeybees, bumblebees are useful pollinators and they are sometimes used like honeybees to pollinate crops in some cases.
Fortunately, like the Jackson County bees, these big bees flew all around me without ever attacking or stinging me. I don’t know if I’m just lucky or if bumblebees are simply not aggressive while feeding.
I suspect the latter since I saw two big bumblebees land on the same knapweed blossom and actually meet face to face without the slightest problem between them. One of them finished first and simply buzzed off to the next blossom. If only people could just learn to share and get along that well.
Whaditiz
It was a young pickerel frog, a species considered rare but stable in Wisconsin.
Contact Jim Solberg at (608) 782-2560 or nitefrogger@charter.net.
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