What Predators Eat Butterflies

Butterflies, being one of the bottom members of the food chain, are eaten by several animals. These insects are more vulnerable in their egg, larva, and pupa stages because an adult butterfly in flight is more difficult to catch, requiring extra energy from predators. Some common predators that feed on butterflies include ants, wasps, dragonflies, parasitic flies, snakes, birds, rats, toads, lizards, and monkeys. There are a few other predators, such as spiders and frogs, which can eat butterflies in their egg, larva, and adult stages.

Butterfly Predators

Interesting Facts

  • Colorful bad-tasting butterflies, such as the Monarch, secrete toxins that can make their predators sick. They have developed this as a means of protecting themselves from predators.
  • Many good-tasting butterfly species, like the Viceroy, tricks predatory birds into thinking that it is a bad-tasting Monarch so that they do not eat it.