Ants and larvae
Posted: Sun Sep 02, 2012 11:21 am
We know that the larvae of lycaenids secrete sugar to attract ants, which then protect the larvae, but how do other butterfly larvae interact with ants? I would expect ants would look upon the average caterpillar as a nice meal, but I have noticed a couple of cases where plants used by butterfly larvae are highly used by ants, which ought to make the larvae very vulnerable to predation. I notice the flowers and seed-heads of many garlic mustard plants, where orange-tip larvae ar to be found are investigated in detail by ants. On another site with a strong population of grizzled skippers, most of the available foodplant was growing on the tops of mounds made by the meadow ant, Lasius flavus. I can understand that the mounds will be slightly warmer than the surrounding habitat, so making a good microclimate for egglaying, but surely the eggs and larvae will simply be eaten?