Foodplant for Adonis/Chalkhill Blues...
Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2022 11:49 am
I was watching some female Adonis Blues (and possibly late Chalkhill Blues) laying eggs on Therfield Heath yesterday.
As well as the odd egg on Horseshoe Vetch, I saw quite a few other eggs of exactly the same size and shape on Salad Burnet and Mouse-Ear Hawkweed...
Are either species of Blue known to use these plants as larval foodplants or do you think they are just laying their eggs randomly in the expectation that their larvae will find their way to the correct foodplant (which will be nearby) by the time they hatch.
Why would they do this - seemingly in preference to using their normal foodplant (I saw more eggs on the "wrong" foodplant than the "correct" one)?... Is it possible that the environment has been so dry that the butterflies are having trouble identifying the correct plant with the appropriate nitrogen content (by testing with their feet) and laying on the other plants which may "feel" a closer match to their usual egg-laying site?
As well as the odd egg on Horseshoe Vetch, I saw quite a few other eggs of exactly the same size and shape on Salad Burnet and Mouse-Ear Hawkweed...
Are either species of Blue known to use these plants as larval foodplants or do you think they are just laying their eggs randomly in the expectation that their larvae will find their way to the correct foodplant (which will be nearby) by the time they hatch.
Why would they do this - seemingly in preference to using their normal foodplant (I saw more eggs on the "wrong" foodplant than the "correct" one)?... Is it possible that the environment has been so dry that the butterflies are having trouble identifying the correct plant with the appropriate nitrogen content (by testing with their feet) and laying on the other plants which may "feel" a closer match to their usual egg-laying site?