The life of ... an alcon blue butterfly

Hi everyone,

Today we are going to be looking into the life of an alcon blue butterfly (Phengaris alcon).

After mating, the females lay their eggs on marsh gentian, a blue-coloured wildflower. The eggs can only be laid on these flowers, as this is what the newly hatched caterpillars will eat. Although in some alp regions, they can also be found on willow gentians, a close relative of the marsh gentian. Once the caterpillars have hatched from the eggs, their main predator and danger are the ants that swarm below. But high on their plant homes, the caterpillars are safe.

However, this isn't where the alcon blue caterpillars are going to stay forever. Eventually, they drop down to the ground using silk strings. With no protection, they are soon dragged off by the ants. The most amazing part is, the alcon blue caterpillars give off the same scent and chemicals as the ant larvae. So the ants take the caterpillars back to their brood chamber, where the caterpillars are quickly fed just like the ant larvae. The caterpillars will even make similar sounds to that of the queen ant, to receive even more attention. Due to the immense amount of food, the caterpillars become massive and well-developed.

The caterpillars will stay in the ants' nest for almost two years. Then they pupate. Fast forward a few weeks, and an adult alcon blue butterfly emerges. They now must quickly leave the ants' nest and climb up a nearby grass stem to unfold their wings before flying away to find a mate.

This life cycle saves the blue alcon butterfly from a lot of work and ensures that no caterpillars die from starvation. However, if either the ants or the marsh gentian were to go extinct, so would the alcon blues. In other words, they aren't adaptive and in a fast-changing world, this might be their downfall.

Some ant colonies change the scent their larvae give off to stop the blue alcon's from getting in. This has sometimes been called an 'arms race' between the butterflies and the ants. Depending on location, the butterflies will use different ant species as hosts, all from the genus 'Myrmica'.

An interesting phenomenon is when the ''Ichneumon eumerus'' wasp tracks down the blue alcon caterpillars that are staying in the ants' nests. Once the wasps have found the blue alcons, they spray the nearby ants with a chemical that makes them attack each other. In all the confusion, the wasp injects the caterpillars with its eggs. When the caterpillar pupates, the wasp larvae feed on the chrysalis from the inside.

Despite all of this, blue alcon butterflies are classified as Least Concern and have habitats dotted around Europe and northern Asia.

Your Green World Blog Team💚

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phengaris_alcon

https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/marsh-gentian

https://www.jungledragon.com/specie/1297/alcon_blue.html

Documentary: Our Planet (2019) voiced by David Attenborough E5 From Deserts to Grasslands 32:00 (Available on Netflix and Youtube)

Images:

1st image: This image is owned by Erik Karits on pexels.com.

2nd image: This image is owned by Erik Karits on pexels.com.

Comments

The life of ... a koala

Hello everyone, Today we're talking about koalas. Also known as koala bears, koalas are marsupials. So they're actually not bears. Koalas, phascolarctos cinereus , are tree dwelling and probably best known for spending most of the day sleeping. They live for up to 15 years in the wild although captive koalas generally live for longer. Koalas have a stout, gray body and a cream-coloured chest. They have a broad face, small yellow eyes and big fluffy ears. In adaptation to climbing, their feet are strong and clawed. Adult individuals in South Australia weigh 14kg and are 60-84cm big. Their Eastern cousins are considerably smaller. Koalas are found in Eastern and Southern Australia, where they live in eucalyptus trees. They feed on the leaves of these eucalyptus trees, eating up to 1.3kg a day. With a body weight of up to 14kg, this means they eat just under 10% of their body weight every single day. However, the le...

Coral reefs

Hello! We would love to introduce you to the topic of coral reefs and especially coral reef bleaching, as it is a greatly ignored but certainly significant topic. Have fun! 5 coral reef facts 1. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on the planet and is 2300 km long! 2. Less than 0.1% of the world's ocean surface is covered in coral reefs. 3. At least 25% of all marine animals live there. 4. Coral reefs are often known as the rainforests of the ocean. 5. In 1 square kilometre of coral reef, up to 35 tons of fish can be 'produced'. The 5 biggest coral reefs in the world 1. Great Barrier Reef (near Australia) 2. Red Sea Coral Reef (near Egypt, Israel and Djibouti) 3. New Caledonia Reef (Pacific Ocean near New Caledonia) 4. The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef (near Mexico, Belize, Guatemala and Honduras) 5. Florida Reef (Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico near Florida) What is coral? Coral is actually made up of small anim...

Photo Essay || Iceland Series (part 1)

Hi Everyone! I recently went on a school trip to Iceland! It was such an incredible experience (and I'm going to sound cheesy now) but it was also incredible to do it with some of my closest friends! I saw so many incredible things and learnt so much, so I couldn't resist sharing a little Iceland mini series of posts, all about Iceland, both my experiences there and what I saw, but also the way it uses geothermal energy, and the animals, natural landforms and plants that are there. Today I'm sharing some photos of my trip. These are all photos I have taken, and are also the highlights so please bear that in mind as you browse these! I hope it is interesting and inspires you to book a trip to Iceland! The blue lagoon <33 landscapes.... Lost little farmhouses a...

18.10.20 Animal Of The Week: Sloth

Hello, Sorry this didn't come out on Sunday as planned but this week's animal of the week is the sloth because the twentieth of October is Sloth Day. Habitat The sloth resides in Central and South America. It lives in the rainforests there and occasionally drops into the water for a bathe as, believe it or not, they are actually excellent swimmers! Diet Sloths eat leaves, twigs and buds which they find in the rainforest. As they don't have incisors they smack their lips together to make leaves more digestible. Sloths can survive on relatively little food as it takes a while for them to digest it. Sleep and Speed When you think of a sloth, you probably think of this slow, sleepy creature. They actually sleep for about 15 hours a day! Sloths have an extremely low metabolic rate (what basic calories your body needs to survive), which means they move at a slow pace through the trees. On average, sloths travel 40 yards per day ...

29.11.2020 Animal Of The Week: Jaguar

Hello, Today (29th November) is world Jaguar day so this week our animal is the Jaguar. The Jaguar is an animal I know pretty much nothing about so I am going to learn a lot too! Jaguars (panthera onca) live for 12 - 15 years. Their heads and bodies are 150-180cm long and their tails are 70-90cm long! They weigh 45 - 110 kg. Habitat Jaguars live primarily in the Amazon Basin, though they can be found in smaller numbers in Central America. They once lived everywhere from central Argentina up to the southwestern United States but since the 1880s they have lost over half of their territory. They are mainly found in tropical rainforests but can live in savannas and grasslands. Diet They eat fish and turtles as they are actually quite competent swimmers as well as deer, iguanas, birds and monkeys; they will eat almost anything! Are they endangered? Jaguars are classed as near endangered and face several threats. South and Central Americ...

25.10.2020 Animal of the week: Snow leopard

Hello everyone, This week's post is about snow leopards. Snow leopards are incredible big cats that roam the mountain ranges of Asia. Snow leopards are very powerful and can climb up and down steep slopes easily, as well as jump up six times their body length. The snow leopard's tail provides balance, agility and warmth. The snow leopard is elusive and solitary and therefore very difficult to spot. They are very important though, because they are at the top of the food chain in this area. Habitat Snow leopards live in northern and central Asia's mountain ranges. These are some of the harshest conditions on earth. However, they white-grey coat with large black spots allows them to blend in with the rocky mountain terrain. They are found in twelve countries including China, Russia and Mongolia. Diet Snow leopards can kill prey up to three times their body weight. This is an incredible feat to pull off as they manage this on their ow...

16.08.2020 Animal of the week: Elephant

Hello. On the 12th of August it was International Elephant Day, so we decided that this week's post should be about elephants. Elephants are the largest living land mammals. There are three types of elephant; the African bush elephant; the African forest elephant and the Asian elephant. African elephants have larger ears, whereas Asian elephants have smaller ears. Elephants use their trunks to breath, bring food and drink to their mouths and to grasp objects. Elephants' legs are like pillars. They carry the Elephant's massive weight. African bush elephants weigh 6000kg, Asian elephants weigh 4000kg and African forest elephants weigh 2700kg. Basically, they are very heavy.Elephants eat grasses, small plants, bushes, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots. Elephants can live up to 70 years old in the wild. They communicate by sight, touch and smell. Sadly, these wonderful mammals are in danger. African elephants are listed as vulne...

Deforestation and why it’s a problem

Hi everyone, Welcome back to another post. Today we’ll be talking about deforestation and its impacts on our earth. Deforestation, the widespread clearance of natural forests, has been happening for thousands of years. One example is Western Europe, where, two millennia ago, 80% of the land was cloaked in dense forest cover. However, over time, a significant portion of this green expanse was sacrificed to create room for crops, livestock grazing, and as a source of fuel and building materials. Presently, a mere 34% of Western Europe retains its woodland. Today, the tropics deal with the brunt of deforestation. Activities such as mining, agriculture, road construction, and the establishment of vast cattle ranches drive the mass clearance of tropical rainforests. This results in the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, exacerbating the global climate crisis. The consequences come in two waves: first, the reduced number of...

Green Pets: how house plants can benefit your health🌱

Hi Everyone! Today I wanted to tell you about the benefits that house plants can have to your health. Enjoy :) 1. Reducing stress levels A study proved that having house plants makes you feel calmer and more natural, which in turn makes you feel less stressed and overwhelmed. I definitely agree that plants are very calming and I'm not surprised that it is scientifically proven! 2. Allergy relief Having house plants can reduce dust and mould, which could be amazing for people with those allergies. Obviously, you would want to avoid plants with a lot of pollen! 3. General Happiness Plants can boost your mental health and make you feel better about yourself. Employees who work in offices with plant life feel better about their jobs, feel less stressed and have less time off for health reasons. Some therapists even use plant therapy to help people with depression, anxiety and other mental health problems. 4. Boosting humidity If ...

Amazon Rainforest series - part 1: an overview and general facts

Hi everyone, This is our newest eco system mini series. Today, we are talking about the Amazon Rainforest. There will be no schedule to these posts because we've found we're not very good at keeping to them! However, we will try to post these fairly regularly! The Amazon is a fascinating ecosystem and one we are very excited to explore further and hopefully share lots of facts and interesting information about this amazing rainforest. The Amazon covers an area of 7 000 000 km2. 5 500 000 km2 of that is covered in rainforest. The rest is part of the basin. It stretches over 9 countries. The rainforest is named after the river, the Amazon, which flows from southwestern Peru into the Atlantic Ocean on the north-eastern coast of Brazil. 6 840 km long, the Amazon river is the second longest river in the world. Around 400-500 indigenous tribes live in the forest. 50 of those are believed to have never had contact to the outside wor...

Green World

Search This Blog