Kleptopharmacophagy : a discovered behavior in Danainae

[wollastoni]

Our friends David Lohman, Ethan Beaver, Yi Kai Tea and Jonathan Soong have published and described an interesting behaviour from Danainae butterflies. They wound some caterpillars to steal some chemical substance to become unpalatable.

www.nytimes.com/2021/09/09/science/butterflies-eating-caterpillars.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqohkQVUbCibOVtkqqBaLwvLS3KAxnHH6LSWODDtL0-UTDM2L8lvAf7JiY986xS_dRMNENPVnYs1O-dJlHh4nTRi08NzDkY4ZIi4xpMW_VWhp08icAfU1-m7gKzSyJLw6zuyx4lfabGHvD6yM1SUlJFl1sNAyIwHRrH8Mzq_BEeNz0sAvnqtyQ8AnGkpTIXWCrPLqCB1hOdWZbhi66gU-We9RWzC7jsfLovtbM10UUQSaOSs5tWUs69pcOMcVNLL_KnMjfMn_h7YQAw94PTiU_1TQqu0KsPT0Ej92O-E&smid=em-share&fbclid=IwAR1HZ4sBfe5NWHmKuweDrXAOUTUtZfIU1D5XuWlEytS7RXw0WvpuyVgvdOw

I have never witnessed this myself. I have seen them doing so with some live plants, but never on live caterpillars.
I will pay better attention now.


Picture : Tea & al

[kevinkk]

That is amazing. Thanks for the post, I learn new things all the time here. So- when someone claims they've been bitten by a butterfly...

[Adam Cotton]

Well, they don't actually 'bite', they use their tarsal claws to scratch the larva so it bleeds and then suck the liquid which exudes with their proboscis.

There are some species of moths with a specially adapted proboscis that can pierce mammal skin and suck blood. Fruit piercing moths can similarly suck juices from inside ripe fruit.

Adam.