A quoi servent les antennes du papillon? - C'est pas sorcier

But what? Since they don't eat, let's not forget it. Butterflies have only one goal in life, to reproduce. However, in the dark, night butterflies are unable to locate themselves. Therefore, to locate a female, the male will use his nose, well, his antennas. How does it work? The female emits what we call pheromones, a kind of gaseous substance, a smell that the male will be able to smell more than one kilometer away. How? Well, these antennas are run through small holes in which the pheromones will settle. Inside the antennas, there are sensors that will determine the origin of the smell. Here, in this case, the smell of a female that the male will rush to join. After fertilization, the female will lay its eggs, but not anywhere, on a plant that these caterpillars will be able to eat, and that the female recognizes, again, thanks to the smells. Then, the female will lay her eggs. And to prevent another female butterfly from laying eggs in the same place, before leaving the plant, the female will emit a new pheromone, to warn her congeners that the place is already occupied.