Most people associate butterflies with flowers, watching them tranquilly sipping nectar like royalty. However, you may also see butterflies hanging around less savory food.
Flight is energy expensive, and butterflies get most of the calories needed from sugars found in flower nectar. The best flowers produce nectar with a 20-25% sugar content and store it in chambers that can be easily penetrated by the butterflies’ proboscis, a sipping straw-like mouth part. Suitable blossoms also provide a good landing pad on which to feed, the favorites being asters, daisies, milkweeds, mustards, mints, peas, and vervains.