- Joined
- Mar 27, 2011
- Messages
- 16,924
- Reaction score
- 5,294
- Location
- Near the gargoyles
- Website
- www.alessandrakelley.com
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...butterfly-thriving-in-uk-since-reintroduction
The Large Blue Butterfly has an unusual, carnivorous life cycle:
A butterfly once pronounced extinct in the UK has been seen in record numbers this year, according to conservationists.
There were over 10,000 adult large blue butterflies in Gloucestershire and Somerset – the largest concentration of the species known in the world.
The Large Blue Butterfly has an unusual, carnivorous life cycle:
Having fed for three weeks on the flowerbuds of wild thyme or marjoram, the caterpillar produces scents and songs that trick red ants into believing it is one of their own grubs and is carried underground into the ants’ nest and placed with the ant brood.
The caterpillar spends the next 10 months feeding on the grubs before pupating in the nest the following year and then emerging to crawl above ground as a butterfly.