Why don’t I have a straw on my face like a butterfly?

October 01, 2017

How cool would it be to have your own personal face straw that you could curl up and take with you? Butterflies and moths have a proboscis because their food is usually a fluid, for example nectar or plant sap. Insects in the order Lepidoptera (including moths and butterflies) have special muscles in their heads that help them suck up their favorite foods through the proboscis. Humans, on the other hand, need to eat solid foods, so teeth (attached to jaws) are much more useful.

What is your favorite food? If you could design something to help you eat that favorite food, what would it look like and where would it be attached to your body?