Photo Feature
But Poison Too Can Help In The Game Of Love
<p><strong>Rizwan Mithawala, Not just salt, but poison too can help in the game of love.</strong> <em>These blue tiger </em>Tirumala limniace<em> butterfly males have gathered on a rattlepod weed </em>Crotalaria sp.<em> to collect toxic alkaloids. Males have even been observed scratching undamaged leaves in a bid to gather sap rich in pyrrolizidine alkaloids on which they get ‘drunk’. Feeding on these alkaloids makes the males more distasteful, strengthening their defence against predators; the toxic alkaloids also help synthesise pheromones that attract females. In laboratory studies, males denied access to such plants were observed having lower mating success.</em></p>
<p><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Ovalekarwadi, Thane, Maharashtra</em></p>