Butterflies commonly visit the garden in the spring when the flowers are in full bloom, but they also come upon fruiting plants. Their larvae usually feed on plants, but adults like to eat juicy fruits. Pineapple trees can also grab their attention in the late summer and autumn.
Can Butterflies Eat Pineapple? Butterflies can eat pineapple for energy, minerals, natural sugars, and vitamins in its juice. It also keeps them hydrated for many hours. They consume fresh and rotten fruits due to high juice content and soft pulp. You can cut its slices and hang them on a pole to attract butterflies.
You can spread a few pineapple slices on the porch to attract butterflies and bring these colorful and beautiful insects inside your home. They cannot ignore the juicy slices and get attracted to them. This tropical fruit does not allure it if it is not cut because hard covering protects the soft internal core.
How do butterflies eat pineapple?
They prefer to eat pineapple only when its outer hard covering is removed, as they cannot chew or break off the hard protective layer.
Only a few fruit-piercing butterflies in nature have adapted to go through the outer covering. However, it is challenging for them to break the hard covering of pineapples.
Accordingly, the wild species only eat it when its outer covering gets slightly removed naturally due to the attack of other frugivorous creatures.
They usually suck its juice by injecting tubular tongues within it that require effort as its fruit is not pulpier in texture.
However, its juice contains insoluble pulpy solids consumed by these flying insects. They take time to consume a considerable amount of juice with their tubular tongues.
Its diameter is around 0.24 to 0.10 mm in butterflies, but its length is approximately 10 to 15 mm. It does not allow larger amounts of juice consumption, so they eat slowly.
How much pineapple can a butterfly eat?
The amount of pineapple a butterfly can eat depends on their body’s needs and energy demands, as they consume its juice more frequently in summer.
Hot weather leads to severe dehydration in insects, so they prefer to consume more food that is rich in water content and keeps them hydrated.
Accordingly, they eat water-rich food in summer and usually consume a large amount of fruit. They are slow eaters and consume one slice in several days due to their small mouths.
It is not possible to estimate the quantity because their smaller species eat less than the larger ones, as their body needs less amount of nutrients.
In addition, female butterflies are larger than males, but males remain more active during flower visits. They visit pineapple plants more frequently in their reproduction season.
How do you feed pineapple to butterflies?
Cut the pineapple into thin slices or smaller chunks and put them in a bowl. Keep the bowl in the garden to grab the attention of the butterflies flying over blooming flowers.
They can easily reach a plate and the slices when you spread them at a distance instead of piling them one over another.
One of my friends created a butterfly feeder using a bowl in which he added pineapple chunks. He placed the bowl in a larger bowl and filled the second bowl with water.
You can also use a large tray that can hold water in it. This water-filled tray helps avoid the attack of non-targeted insects on the ground, as they cannot swim through water to reach food.
I followed the same method using shallow plates that worked great when I placed this setup on the table in the outdoor area. These butterflies reached there after a few hours by detecting food odor.
Another method of feeding this sweet and tangy food is to hang them on hooks. Fix the copper wire on a tree branch in the form of hooks and hang slices on these hooks.
This method is better than others because hanging fruit helps prevent the attack of other insects like ants.
So, you can adjust these methods according to your ease, but keeping a bowl in another water bowl is a good strategy; otherwise, other insects arrive there before butterflies.
Why do butterflies eat pineapple?
They eat pineapple because it provides healthy nutrients and energy. They get attracted to food with a high water content, as their diet relies on liquid food.
Almost 12g of carbohydrates are present in 100g of pineapple, primarily consisting of sugars and a smaller amount of dietary fiber. These natural sugars provide energy and improve health.
However, the content of cholesterol and fats is almost negligible, while around 0.4 to 0.5g of protein is present. It contains vitamin C, which is about 79% of the total nutritional value.
Smaller quantities of iron, magnesium, calcium, and vitamin B6 are present in it, ultimately benefiting the butterfly’s health.
In addition, sodium and potassium are also required for physiological functioning and proper growth of butterflies. Its taste ranges between sweet and sour, but it is acidic.
Moreover, it is delicious and nutritious, so it grabs the attention of insects looking for nutritious food. It is a part of their menu as it fits their criteria and allures their receptors.
They can get many nutritional and hydration benefits by consuming pineapple, but its acidic pH sometimes irritates them as they prefer sweeter foods.
What type of butterflies can eat pineapple?
Most commonly, butterflies get attracted to flowers and suck their nectar at blooming stage. A few species find fruits equally attractive and reach the ripened pineapples to sip their juice.
They usually find rotting fruits more alluring than fresh ones because they get softer over time. Over-ripening makes them sweeter and soft in texture.
Accordingly, they are potentially more attractive than those with an intact covering, as they cannot reach the soft and pulpy core if its covering is present.
Sometimes, fruit-boring pests attack the pineapple plant and make holes in the outer covering, making it easier for butterflies to inject their tongues.
Their caterpillars mostly chew on the plant leaves, but a few try to bore the fruit and get nutrition from the inside. However, it is not common among caterpillars because they feed on other plant parts.
What type of pineapples can a butterfly eat?
Different types of pineapples are present in different parts of the world, but a few are sweeter than others. The black pineapple and Abacaxi pineapples are the sweetest among all.
Butterflies choose fruits with a stronger aroma and sweeter taste because they need natural sugars for energy. The Queen Victoria pineapple is known for its intense fragrance and softcore.
Other types of this tropical fruit can also potentially grab their attention whenever they detect an intense, sweet aroma.
They prefer to consume overripe pineapples instead of raw or fresh ones because their aroma is stronger. Moreover, they taste sweeter due to their high sugar content.
The freshly ripened fruit is also attractive for them, but the rotten ones have a more powerful odor and soft texture, making it easier for them to suck the juice.
Related Articles: