Do butterflies eat ants?
Butterflies do not eat ants. Ants are often preyed upon by mantises and other insects, so it makes sense that you would think that butterflies also love eating them as well. As a general rule, butterfly caterpillars have very different diets from adult butterflies, though. If a butterfly does get hungry in its adult stage and has nothing else to feed on, it will sip the minerals from dead ants.
For example, the caterpillars of monarch butterflies feed on milkweed plants, and the caterpillars of painted lady butterflies feed on thistle plants. It is not uncommon for the larvae of certain species of butterfly to consume food from the same plant as their mother did when she was a larva.
What is the relationship between butterflies and ants?
Some of these butterflies also have remarkable relationships with ants. In most cases, the ants are of a local species, and they tend to take up residence in the soil where the plants on which the butterfly larvae feed are found.
One example of a relationship that benefits both partners is found in the mutually beneficial association between Lycaenid butterflies and ants. The Lycaenidae family (which has over 3000 species) contains many beautiful, brightly colored butterflies with remarkable patterns on their wings.
Some of these butterflies also have remarkable relationships with ants. In most cases, the ants are of a local species, and they tend to take up residence in the soil where the plants on which the butterfly larvae feed are found.
The adults of many Lycaenid species have nectaries on some of their body parts where they produce sugar-rich nectar for which the ants are happy to forage. For example, some females have nectaries under their wings, close to their bodies.
What is Mutualism?
The concept of mutualism has been studied for many years. Mutualism is sometimes differentiated from symbiosis in zoology, although the terms are often interchangeable. For example, a reviewer in the British Journal for the History of Science (BJHS) defined mutualism as “the view that certain animals live together to their mutual advantage.”
Mutualistic relationships may be either obligate for both species, obligate for one but facultative for the other, or facultative for both. A large percentage of herbivores have mutualistic gut flora to help them digest plant matter, which is more difficult to digest than animal prey.
This gut flora is made up of cellulose-digesting protozoans or bacteria living in the herbivores’ intestines. Coral reefs are the result of mutualisms between coral organisms and various types of algae that live inside them.
Most land plants and ecosystems rely on mutualisms between the plants, which fix carbon from the air, and mycorrhizal fungi, which help extract water and minerals from the ground. An example of mutual symbiosis is lichens, which are composed of fungal and photosynthetic symbionts.
Do ants raise butterflies?
Butterflies and ants have an unusual relationship. Some butterflies lay their eggs on plants that the ants also eat. When the butterfly caterpillars hatch, they, too, eat these plants.
This all seems fine until you realize that the ants are carnivores and will happily devour a caterpillar if they find one. Yet some butterflies not only survive in ant-rich environments but actively seek them out. How do they manage this?
The butterflies have developed ways of deterring the ants or even tricking them into caring for the caterpillars as if they were ant larvae. This is beneficial to both parties: The butterflies rely on the ants for free childcare; the ants are provided with food by the caterpillars.
Adult butterflies rarely eat at all, just minerals from dead ants and nectar from flowers. Butterfly caterpillars have different diets and can eat ants, but you will rarely hear about them eating other insects as adults. Butterflies are beautiful fliers in the world of nature, and it is understood that a lot of our knowledge of them isn’t that great. We hope to teach others more about these amazing animals by debunking this myth.
