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Do you know the different parts of a butterfly's body? Click on them to know more about them.
A butterfly has two pairs of wings: the forewings and the hindwings. The wings are connected to the Thorax.
The wings are covered with tiny scales like the whole body. Colors and patterns are due to the scales' structure and colors.
The whole surface of the body as well as the scales are covered with a wax layer to protect the butterfly from water.
Each species has a individual pattern of veins in its wings.
The antennae are covered with sense organs for smelling. The "branches" enlarge the surface of the antenna and give room for more smelling organs. So some moths smell the fragrances of a female called pheromones even a few miles away. The antennae are very helpful to find a partner for mating because each species has its particular fragrance.
The antenna helps the sense of balance as well.
 The proboscis is the butterfly's "straw" and the reason why it can only eat liquid food. It is divided lengthwise.
When it is not used, the proboscis is rolled up. To nectar it is straightened by muscles. To roll it up, no muscles are needed.
Butterflies have six legs divided in several parts.
A butterfly's eye consists of many small, simple eyes so it sees everything formed by a mass of tiny pictures. It can't see very clearly and doesn't perceive all of the colors we see. But it sees ultra violet patterns which are invisible for us. It can look in all directions and notice moving objects quite easily.
An insect's skeleton is a hard case outside, inside the body there are only blood, nerves and organs. Butterflies have an open blood circulation. This means they have no veins, the whole body is filled with blood.
Several butterflies have a membrane, a kind of ear (like our thympanic membrane), on their Thorax. These ears are of great importance to hear very high frequency sounds of bats. When hearing a bat, butterflies start a zigzag flight to escape the danger.
Legs and wings are connected to the Thorax which is divided into three parts.
On the Abdomen you can find a kind of holes for breathing. The sexual organs are located on the Abdomen as well.
On the feet there are sense organs for tasting. They are used to identify plants and food. So the appropriate plants to lay eggs on can be found by the mother.
The first pair of feet is particularly constructed like a brush. It is used to clean the antennae.
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