Do you know why butterflies bask?
answer: They bask to warm the muscles in the thorax. These muscles control the wings.

Do you know if butterflies are able to control the amount of heat they recieve during basking?
answer: They are able to control the heat and do so by adjusting their wing position.

The answers to these questions were found through past studies of butterflies and discovered during new research conducted in the BioMechanics Laboratory at Tufts University. The laboratory is cross-listed as ES-49 and Bio-196, and is a combination of bi ology and mechanical engineering.