Do butterflies think?

According to researchers, butterflies are likely to have a memory which means they can think. It is not likely for a butterfly to remember being a caterpillar, but it will retain its experiences.

Animals with larger brains are usually the ones that are capable of thinking. A cockroach’s brain contains more than 300,000 neurons, while a common butterfly’s brain has 150,000,000 neurons.

With that amount of neurons, butterflies are still capable of complex thinking, like remembering where they lay their eggs and remembering that awful weather was associated with a specific location. They are capable of thinking even though they do not have large brains.

How butterflies sense?

Butterflies have sensitive eyes, which help them find nectar. Their sense of smell allows them to explore plants to know where their favorite food resides.

Butterflies don’t have ears, but they can feel the vibrations surrounding them and feel the heat from other animals. If you’re still, a butterfly may be able to identify you and sense that you will not harm it. They can recognize potential predators. That way, they can quickly stay away from people or animals that’d do them harm.

Do butterflies remember Humans?

Like we said above, butterflies are said to recognize people who remain still for some time, and they can realize who’s causing them harm and who is not. As per scientists, butterflies might have many other exciting traits, and they can remember specific locations where they’ve found food before.     

Can Butterflies Remember being caterpillars?

Good question!

While butterflies do have the ability to remember, it is said that they cannot remember themselves as caterpillars. The ability of a butterfly to remember its experiences as a caterpillar was tested by a team of researchers at Georgetown University in the US.

These researchers trained the caterpillars to dislike the smell of ethyl acetate by giving them electric shocks every time they smelt the chemical. Then they let the caterpillars grow into butterflies and tested them to see if they remembered, and most of them did.

The research showed that though a butterfly cannot remember being a caterpillar, but they can remember their experiences.

Butterflies can think, but their thoughts are limited because of their tiny brains. They can remember, but they cannot remember themselves as caterpillars.