giant swallowtail returns

[Nigel Venters]

>
> > Another thing worth noting is that I think we give the butterflies too
much
> > credit in botany class!  They are good but I have seen them lay on the
wrong
> > (and unacceptable) host many times.
 
OK they are simple creatures, but not daft! sometimes when feeding on sugar
water they will lay an ova too. The buddelia reaction may be simply that it
is so attractive to butterflies they are almost intoxicated! It causes the
same unatural reaction. What your seeing is the odd egg wasted, she'll make
very few mistakes overall and I'll still maintain they are the best
botanists!
 
> Paul Cherubini wrote:
 
> Perhaps it's partly a practical thing too--if there are moments in her
life when she is in a
> kind of butterfly labor...then maybe getting the botany exactly right may
not be a big
> priority
 
Or a practical solution to make a little more space for nectar? lose one or
two ova for the benefit of the rest? Whatever the reason, with their normal
natural wastage they don't make too many mistakes or they just wouldn't
survive as a species.
 
Nigel