To the butterflies of Peru

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Lev Bely, 16.07.2016 0:57

Don't have a hundred friends, but have… a hundred ants nearby, so judged the Peruvian draughtsmen-cunning, deceiving the local ants.

As scientists at Rice University, USA, found out, the caterpillars of the Adelotypa annulifera shashechnitsa, which lives in Peru, secrete a sweet substance that Ectatomma tuberculatum ants are happy to absorb and in return provide the caterpillars with bodyguard services, protecting them from enemies. It would seem that everything is fair? But no.

Having transformed from a caterpillar into a butterfly, the draughtsman shamelessly encroaches on the so-called "nectaries" - places where nectar accumulates at the end of young bamboo shoots. These nectaries are occupied by ants, which contribute to the appearance of nectar, an important element of their diet. Other malicious intruders are successfully driven away by ants, but they lose their power before the checkers: treacherous butterflies emit a special smell, similar to the same caterpillar secretions.

According to Phillip Torres, a scientist at the university, this smell makes ants want to take care of butterflies and, in addition, gives hope for "sweet gifts", which in the end turns out to be a simple deception. Moreover, after eating nectar, butterflies lay eggs on the same bamboo shoots and fly away, and ants get new caterpillars and the whole cycle begins anew.

Also, butterflies disguise themselves as ants by the color of their wings, the pattern of which confuses birds of prey who do not want to eat ants, which, according to Torres, are tasteless and have chemical protection.

The full study is published in English in the Journal of the Lepidopterists ' Society, available on the BioOne portal, http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.18473/lepi.70i2.a8.

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Фото: https://entomologytoday.org