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Small Blues and ants
Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 5:56 am
by Dave McCormick
A friend of mine the other day was in the west of Ireland and found about 20 small blue cats on kidney vetch, he noticed one was being attended by ants. Do ants play a part in all blues in the UK? I didn't know this happened in small blue, but then again I myself have not had the privlidge of seeing any.
Re: Small Blues and ants
Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 5:30 pm
by Matsukaze
Hi Dave,
Interesting! From the Millennium Atlas:
"Both larvae and pupae have structures that attract ants and in continental Europe they are usually tended by ants throughout their development. However, detailed observations in Britain have rarely found ants in attendance, possibly because few native ant species forage high up in the flower-heads."