Butterflies can see not only visible colors but also ultraviolet rays. They can still fly with half a wing missing. In order to avoid freezing in the wintertime, butterflies pump sugar into their blood like antifreeze. The distance from the opening of the flower to the nectaries determines the size of the butterfly attracted to a particular nectar source, because the smaller the butterfly, the smaller the proboscis or tongue in which to siphon out the nectar. Butterflies use their feet to taste and their antennae to smell.
Butterflies sip nectar and other fluids using a proboscis.
The longest known proboscis measures twelve inches long. Female butterflies use the taste receptors on the inside of their legs to determine whether or not they are on a host plant.