Mice and butterflies

[Staffan Forssell]

Hi, 



I found this on http://www.monarchwatch.org/biology/pred2.htm



... Five species of mice are known to be abundant near the Mexican overwintering roosts of Monarch butterflies. Of these five, only the scansorial black-eared mouse, Peromyscus melanotis, eats Monarchs. Several studies have investigated how P. melanotis avoids poisoning, the impact Monarch consumption has on the mouse, and the impact mouse predation has on the Monarch population.

 

This predation may also have helped mold Monarch behavior in winter roosts. For example, Monarchs generally crawl up vegetation. Moving up might help protect Monarchs from both freezing temperatures near the ground and from greater mouse predation. On a conservation note, this means that it is important to also protect the understory vegetation in winter roosts so that Monarchs can escape mouse predation more easily ....



Question: do we know of other mice predators on other butterflies? Be it in the US, Latin America, Africa, Asia or Europe? 





Best wishes 

Staffan in Sweden 
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