Love Is In The Air

Photo Feature

But Poison Too Can Help In The Game Of Love
Rizwan Mithawala, Not just salt, but poison too can help in the game of love. These blue tiger Tirumala limniace butterfly males have gathered on a rattlepod weed Crotalaria sp. to collect toxic alkaloids. Males have even been observed scratching undamaged leaves in a bid to gather sap rich in pyrrolizidine alkaloids on which they get ‘drunk’. Feeding on these alkaloids makes the males more distasteful, strengthening their defence against predators; the toxic alkaloids also help synthesise pheromones that attract females. In laboratory studies, males denied access to such plants were observed having lower mating success. Location: Ovalekarwadi, Thane, Maharashtra

love is in the air