Butterflies need nectar for energy to fly and to reproduce. Tiny scales cover the adult butterfly's wings that aid them during these critical searches. On close inspection, you will see that butterflies have very large eyes, allowing them to see in every direction without turning their heads. This unique feature of their anatomy helps them locate flowers and larval host plants more easily. They have a mouthpart called a proboscis, which they use for probing and sucking nectar from flowers.
All butterflies have a club- shaped antennae that are most often feathery.
However, their antennaes can be very differently shaped, depending upon the species. Butterflies have evolved a mechanism that isolates and concentrates certain noxious host plant chemicals into their caterpillars. Only female butterflies search for the specific host plants that will provide these chemicals to their caterpillars. These host plants are where the female butterfly will eventually lay her eggs. During pupation, these same chemicals are distributed into the wings and bodies of the butterflies, making them distasteful to predators such as birds.