Buttterflies taste with their feet and drink nectar with their proboscis, a straw-like tongue. This is a Julia (Dryas iulia). It is native from Brazil to southern Texas and Florida. In summer, it can be found straying north into the central US. This butterfly feeds on the nectar of flowers such as lantana. Its caterpillars feed on the leaves of passion vines. It belongs to the family brush-footed butterflies (Nymphalidae). This photo was taken in April at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.
Here is my post butterflies ( number one).
photo by me ©2009
