Have you ever seen butterflies on moist soil, dung, puddles of water or mud on the ground? The butterflies sip water rich in mineral salts and other essential nutrients (mostly sodium chloride and nitrogen-rich solutions) using their straw-like proboscis. It will uncoil to sip food and coils up again into a spiral when not in use. This little process is called Puddling.
A Common Bluebottle butterfly flying in from behind joining in with the Five Bar Swordtail butterfly for puddling.
Females are known to puddle, but not the norm. Male butterflies do more puddling than females. The dissolved salts and minerals may be used to make pheromones (that the male uses to attract females) and sperm. Many male species are more active and faster in flight than females. The males have a need of sodium to sustain their high-energy activities level to search for their mating female.
When the males found their mating partners, they transfer this sodium to them during the mating process. Males can mate with many females and after each process, their sodium levels are exhausted and have to puddle again. Females do not puddle and they sustain their energies in obtaining other sources of nutrients, searching for better locations and laying fertile eggs.
1 comment:
Bobby: Certainly you rank among world-class photographers. What terrific work. Well done!
William
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