We all have experienced the joy of watching a beautiful butterfly feed on flower nectar. Butterflies carry pollen from blossom to blossom, pollinating plants. They also are an important part of the food chain. Scientists have identified more than 20,000 species of butterflies that live all over the world in forests, jungles, deserts, and even in the Arctic. The Columbia Basin is home to at least 50 species of butterflies.
Monarch butterflies are the largest butterfly species in the Basin.
Butterflies are insects. The scales of butterflies are pigmented. This allows them to scatter light into colors humans can see and some humans cannot see. The head of a butterfly has two eyes, a pair of antennae, and a tongue called a proboscis. Butterflies uncoil the proboscis to drink nectar from flowers.