How Insects
Eat Their Food
Flies:
Some flies have a flattened, round, sponge-like mouthpart that they use
to lap up decaying flesh and meat. Flies cannot chew. They have to suck
up their food. Flies have mouth parts that absorb food like a sponge.
Their food has to be in a liquid form for them to eat it. They taste
with the hairs that cover their body. The hairs on the fly's mouth
parts and feet are used for tasting. Flies taste what they walk on and
if they walk on something that tastes good, they put their mouth down
and taste it again. Flies eat sugary food of any kind, including nectar
and rotting fruit. They also eat dead animals by sucking out the
insides of the animal.
From:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hooked_on_macro/2374679651/
From:
http://www.pbase.com/samantha_38d/image/139691041
Butterflies:
Butterflies have mouths that are shaped like a coiled-tube, which can
be uncoiled and used like a drinking straw to suck up nectar from
flowers. Their mouth is like a tube that is called a "proboscis." The
proboscis is kept curled under the butterflies head when they are not
using it, and it uncurls when they eat. Many species are very selective
about what they will eat and may feed on only one species of plant in
their lifetime. They usually feed on the nectar of flowers, pollen,
tree sap, rotting fruit, and other things that are dissolved into a
liquid state.
From:
http://www.factmonster.com/dk/science/encyclopedia/insects.html
Picture
of a butterfly with the proboscis uncoiled.
From:
http://butterflycircle.blogspot.com/2008/06/butterfly-proboscis.html
Ants:
Most
ants have sharp-edged mouthparts, called mandibles that can cut through
seeds, wood, and
other foods. They have large jaws that allow them to chew. Ants mouths
are used as tools and weapons because they use them to cut, carry, and
build. Ants will eat almost any food they can find. They like human
food and prefer sugar. Ants eat a variety of small dead insects and
other creatures that they capture, nectar, or honey dew. A few species
of ants feed on fungus.
From:
http://tinylittleanthill.wordpress.com/2009/06/07/whytheanthill/
Reading
Check: Do you think a butterfly could eat an ants food? Why or why not?
Please explain.
