You can find them on six continents (Antarctica is much too cold) with their red, black, and white coloration being extremely eye-catching. Often found during the Springtime, Red Admiral butterflies (AKA Red Admirable or Vanessa atalanta) are one of the most widespread species around. Generally, if an animal doesn’t know better and actually attempts to swallow a Monarch butterfly, it learns its lesson and never tries to do that again! The bright colors the Monarch butterfly sports serve as a big metaphorical hazard sign to everyone that trying to eat it will be a big mistake. All that milkweed it ate when young results in it having a nasty and foul taste, not unlike milkweed itself should any critter try and eat it. These plants are poisonous to most who would try to eat them, but this insect is able to tolerate it and loves chowing-down on the stuff.Īll of this milkweed enters into the caterpillars’ system and then it spends about a month in a cocoon turning into a beautiful Monarch butterfly. How does this happen? Well, much how the things we eat when we are kids can help us grow up big and strong when the Monarch butterfly is still a lowly caterpillar it feasts on milkweed and other, “cardenolide-producing,” plants. Its bright colors serve as one big warning sign to potential predators, with that sign being, “Don’t eat me, I taste terrible!” You’d think being so noticeable would be a risk, but it actually is an important tool for the Monarch’s survival! Their bright orange coloration makes them easy to spot and admire. This leads to the question, which butterflies are poisonous? Are Monarch Butterflies Poisonous? Most animals realize which butterflies are a no-go, but it is still advisable to keep them away from butterflies that could be an issue. A pet or wild animal swallowing and trying to ingest one of these poisonous butterflies won’t be fatal, but may result in vomiting, diarrhea, and generally feeling crummy for some hours. Usually, if an animal bites a poisonous butterfly it will quickly realize it has made a terrible mistake and do its best to spit the butterfly out. Are Butterflies Poisonous to Animals Like Birds, Cats, and Dogs?Įven though animals have digestive systems that are able to handle quite different food than humans (we generally shouldn’t eat birdseed, for example), it holds true that any butterfly which could make us retch in disgust will also upset the tummy of a bird, cat, dog, or other beloved pet. Now, as people don’t eat butterflies too often, the bigger concern is if these butterflies can be poisonous to things like birds, cats, and dogs. The poison inside the butterfly is unlikely to be strong enough, and there are no known cases of humans dying from butterfly poisoning. However, it’s worth mentioning that even if a human decided to eat a nasty-tasting butterfly, this is unlikely to cause any serious harm. While people these days may not eat butterflies too often outside of some Spanish and Southeast Asian cultures, those individuals are well aware that while a number of butterflies may taste pretty good in their opinion, everyone can agree some species of butterfly are purposely nasty to prevent anyone from eating them! Often, a bad taste can indicate something is poisonous, and that is true with a number of kinds of butterflies. The way our sense of taste works we know that if something tastes awful, that generally means we should not eat it. So what would happen if a human tries to eat a butterfly? That’s why we say butterflies aren’t venomous.īut, they can be poisonous in another sense – that is, if another creature tries to eat them. Butterflies don’t have stingers, fangs, a mouth with teeth, or basically anything else that would allow them to inject their venom into another living being. They are simply not designed to fight or do any harm. How Can Butterflies Be Poisonous to Humans?īutterflies are very unlikely to harm humans (or any other mammal for that matter) because their physiology simply doesn’t allow it. Let’s examine via a Q&A format how certain butterflies can be poisonous to humans and animals, as well as which specific species should be avoided by us or our furry friends. Merely touching them with a hand (or paw) won’t harm you, but if you try and take a bite out of a poisonous butterfly, you’ll regret it! They then accumulate these toxins and they remain in the adult butterfly’s body, even though its diet changes. The interesting part is, butterflies typically get the poison from the plants they eat as caterpillars – which are sometimes toxic. Well, a number of butterflies actually have evolved to be poisonous. But, if they’re so delicate how can they possibly survive being preyed-on by bigger animals and bugs? Generally in life, when we see butterflies, the common knowledge is to not touch them as they are fragile and our body’s oils can harm them in addition to our strong fingers smushing up their bodies (which is just a shame).
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