T Please visit our sponsor. Tactile setae are long hairs that butterflies and moths use to sense touch. These hairs are attached to nerve cells, and relay information about touch to the insect's brain. Setae grow through holes in the hard, chitinous exoskeleton. Scientists later retrieve the animal and can interpret the information that is obtained.
Scientists can then determine where, when, how fast, and how far the animal travelled.
This information can provide insight as to how fast they travel, how animals navigate during migrations, how they cope with weather variations, how different groups of a species differ, etc. Some butterflies are tagged so that scientists can learn more about how them. The tarsus has gripping claws and has taste organs, so the insect can grip a flower and determine if it contains a sweet nectar to drink. A taxon is category in the classification of living organisms. These fleshy appendages provide sensory information for the caterpillar.