Predators on Butterflies

[Fred Heath]

Dear Ken,

            I was the one who showed the slide at LepSoc and I have seen
this behavior in mantids several times now including a mantid on the
ground near a damp spot in Garden Canyon, in SE Arizona who had a pile
of Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) wings all around. Since the ground
was bare he was quite obvious, but it didn't stop blue after blue from
landing nearby (including one that landed on the mantid) only to
snatched up one by one and devoured. I always assumed the color (or
smell) of all those wings attracted more of the same.

 

-----Best regards, Fred

 

Could it have been one or more praying mantids? I saw a slide at one of 

the lep soc meetings of numerous C. lacinia wings, no bodies, on the 

ground beneath a tree or maybe a bush. This was some where south of the 

U.S. and I think the person showing the slides said it was a praying 

mantis that did the eating. I understand that the one on Alaska would 

have to be on the ground rather than in a bush and this might pose a 

problem. I assume they have mantids in Alaska?

Stan

 

Kenelm W Philip wrote:

 

>     This summer I saw the aftermath of a rather severe act

>of predation by an unknown predator on _Pieris angelika_

>near Twelve Mile Summit on the Steese Highway, interior Alaska. There 

>is a good collecting site there at Reed Creek, and large aggregations 

>of _P. angelika_ are often seen sitting on damp earth. This summer I 

>got there a bit after the peak aggregation time--and in addition to a 

>fair number of the butterflies standing around, the ground was littered


>with the wings of _many_ individuals whose bodies were nowhere

>to be seen. These detached wings were concentrated at

>aggregation sites.

>

>     I have no idea what it is that can sneak up on these

>critters and consume their bodies with such apparent ease. Normally if 

>you alarm one individual in an aggregation the entire flock takes off 

>instantly.

>

>                 Ken Philip

 

 

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