Caring for Pollinators - Bundesamt für Naturschutz

Hamm & Wittmann Fact sheet pollinators: Butterflies and Moth (Lepidoptera)
POLLINATOR GROUP:
BUTTERFLIES, MOTH
Order: Lepidoptera
Authors: ANDREE´ HAMM,
DIETER WITTMANN
Species number
World wide: 180.000
Number of families: 130
Distribution
Polygonia c-album (Nymphalidae) inbibing nectar on a flower,
Photo: A. Hamm
After the beetles the lepidopterans are the largest insect order. They occur almost all kinds
of terrestrial biotopes on all continents except the Antarctica. Temperate and tropical biotops
with high diversity of flowering plants are characterized by a high diversity of butterflies and
moths.
Butterflies/Moths alimentation and pollination
Because of their food requirements, instars and adult butterflies depend on specific feeding
plants. Adult butterflies normally imbibe nectar from different plants while larvae mainly
depend on specific food plants, where they feed on leaves. Their plant preferences range
from poly- to monophagie. Due to their specific food requirements populations of some
monophagous species of lepidopterans can easily get endangered. As adults have to visit
many flowers for taking up nectar as fuel for their flight activities they do a good job as
pollinators.
Main flower preferences
Butterfly-pollinated flowers are red, blue and yellow and emit agreeable scents. Many of
these flowers are star shaped with elonged nectar tubes which are considerably shorter than
the tubes of sphingophilous flowers. They are open all-day and usually will be visited during
daytime. Nectar is offered in small amounts. Its concentration is low so that it can pass
through the narrow canal formed by the mouthparts of the lepidopterans.
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