QUESTION Cristiano Sales, Fatima do Sul, MS
– (Ricardo Sanches/)
– (Ricardo Sanches/)
paws
The thorax is divided into three rigid chitinous segments, each with a pair of legs. In many butterflies, the first pair is so tiny that it looks like they only have four legs.
Blowholes
They are openings located throughout the body, but which are usually concentrated on the sides of the abdomen. They act as a lung (since the butterfly does not have it): they absorb oxygen and expel carbon dioxide.
– (Ricardo Sanches/)
Eyes
They are large and compound, that is, formed by several small lenses. They generate images in all directions, allowing the animal a better perspective of its surroundings. They also see ultraviolet rays, imperceptible to humans.
antennas
They are responsible for smell, identifying, for example, the scent of flowers or pheromones (attraction hormones) produced by the opposite sex. Some scientists also say that they act as a kind of GPS.
Spiroprobe
It’s a kind of straw that sucks nectar from flowers. Its size varies according to the size and type of flower that butterfly visit. But you can’t always see it, because, during the flight, it can be close to the abdomen or curled up.
– (Ricardo Sanches/)
wings
They are two pairs coated with a set of overlapping colored scales, like tiles on a roof. Formed by layers of chitin, scales regulate body temperature by reflecting or absorbing sunlight.
reproductive organs
Females have a rounded opening and males have a vertical structure. In sex, these parts unite, and the female receives a packet of sperm, the spermatophore, which fertilizes the eggs. It is estimated that there are 20 thousand species of butterflies; 3 thousand in Brazil alone.
CONSULTANCY André Freitas, professor at the Institute of Biology at Unicamp
SOURCES Books Animal Behavior: Pedagogical Theory and Practiceby Eduardo Bessa and Ana Arnt, and Life: The Science of Biology, Volume II: Evolution, Diversity and Ecology, by David Sadava, H. Craig Heller, Gordon Orians, William Purves and David Hillis; websites The Curious Guide, R7, Folha de S.Paulo, world between paws, Butterfly.org It is Animal Planet