Last updated on December 14th, 2023 at 04:42 pm
No, butterflies don’t poop. They may occasionally expel excess liquid from their body, but it’s not considered waste.
Butterflies consume fluids through a long straw-like appendage called a proboscis.
Their diets consist primarily of nectar and other nutrient-rich fluids, so there are no solids to expel as waste poop or faeces.
They don’t even have an organ to store waste like mammals.
So Why Does It Look Like Butterflies Are Pooing?
Does it look like the butterfly has left little droplets in its path?
While this may look like poop, it’s something called meconium. It appears as small red streaks that you could easily confuse with blood.
It’s what’s left of the caterpillar that entered its cocoon state and metamorphosised into a butterfly.
This red liquid is the organic remnants that weren’t used in the transformation.
Appearing as a completely new insect, the liquid remains are stored in the butterfly’s intestine before being discharged shortly after it leaves its cocoon.
How Do Adult Butterflies ‘Poop’?
While it’s not strictly pooping, butterflies do expel excess water from their bodies.
Not all butterfly species have a proboscis to drink and rely on the energy they gained as a caterpillar to last them for their relatively short lives.
The butterflies that do spend their time drinking nectar from flowers or slurping nutrient-rich fluids.
*Extra reading – Fly over to our guide on what butterflies eat and drink to learn more.
This liquid diet can build up excess fluids in their bodies as the nectar/water goes down the digestive tract.
They deal with this by excreting a watery substance consisting of pure water from the anus at the rear of the abdomen.
It results in liquid waste that is more akin to a light spray or droplet rather than what we associate with pooping.
It contains no solid waste or urine, and the release would be barely visible to the human eye, unlike the meconium we discussed above.
What About Caterpillars?
With mouth parts and a serious appetite, the caterpillar is one of nature’s hungriest critters.
These butterfly larvae eat solid food nonstop, and they definitely poo.
*Extra reading – Meet some of the caterpillar’s most prolific waste machines in our guide on do caterpillars poop?
As they voraciously consume leaves, their bodies efficiently process this plant material, producing small, pellet-like waste called “frass.”
Their digestive system is a straightforward tube running from mouth to anus. As they consume leaves, their strong mandibles break down the plant material, which travels through the gut.
Enzymes and gut bacteria break down the cellulose-rich diet, allowing the caterpillar to absorb all the nutrients needed to power the transformation.
