ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on butterflies. Adult butterflies visit flowering plants in search of food, in most cases nectar and in a few cases pollen. In butterfly adult life, chemical signals play a major role. Most olfactory receptors are found at the antennae, while the butterfly’s own production of volatiles emits from glands close to the genitalia or on the wings in proximity to scent scales. Most butterfly species need to feed in the adult stage. Butterflies can be efficient pollinators of plants they visit for nectar or pollen feeding. Compounds from butterfly pollinated plants of exclusive floral origin, in relatively great abundance, may be potential food signals for butterflies. Similarities in the fragrance compositions of butterfly- and moth-pollinated plants because of the taxonomic similarities of the pollinators is possible. The functional unit of the floral scent that attracts butterflies may lie in the biosynthetic origin of compounds, rendering single compounds relatively unimportant.
