Butterflies drink blood to obtain essential nutrients like sodium
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Peer-reviewed literature establishes that certain butterflies and moths consume mammalian body fluids like blood and tears, and engage in puddling behaviors to obtain essential micronutrients such as sodium.
<h4>Background</h4>Sodium is critical for many physiological functions in insects. Herbivorous insects should expend considerable energy to compensate for sodium deficiency due to low sodium concentration in most inland plants upon which they feed. However, sodium compensation behaviors such as mud-puddling have been observed in some species but not in others. We expect that there may be other sodium compensation strategies in insects. Here, we select a rarely mud-puddling insect species, the cotton boll worm, Helicoverpa armigera, and determine the effects of dietary sodium on performance and flight, and examine their means of sodium compensation.<h4>Results</h4>When freshly hatched H. armigera neonates were cultured on one of three diets differing in sodium contents (diet A, B and C with a high, middle and low sodium concentrations, respectively), the larvae on diet C grew larger, had a higher mortality rate and a shorter development period than those on diet A and B. The larvae previously fed from 1st to 3rd instar on diet C consumed more subsequent diet when they were transferred to diet A or C at 4th instar, comparing to those previously fed on diet A. Moreover, any 4th-instar larvae on diet C consumed a greater amount of food than those on diet A, no matter which diet the larvae had previously ingested from 1st to 3rd instar. Moths from diet A and B flew more rapidly than those from diet C, with similar sugar and lipid utilization rates among the three test groups. When a 5th-instar cannibal from diet A, B or C and a 5th-instar victim from diet A were housed together, many more cannibals from diet C ate their victims. When a victim from diet A, B or C was provided, a cannibal from diet C was more likely to eat the victim from diet A. When newly emerged moths had been exposed to 3% sodium chloride solution for all scotophase period, the average weight increase (proxy for sodium solution intake) for moths from diet A was lower than those from diet B or C.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Sodium-deficient diet resulted in rapid growth and development of H. armigera larvae, decreased larvae survival, and reduced flight speed of H. armigera adults. To compensate for sodium deficiency, H. armigera ingested a large quantity of larval food, increased larval cannibalism incidence and harvested sodium during the adult stage.
Although adult Lepidoptera are not often considered medically relevant, some butterflies and moths are notorious for their consumption of mammalian body fluids. These Lepidoptera can be blood-feeding (hematophagous), tear-feeding (lachryphagous), or sweat-feeding (we use the term "sudophagous"). Blood-feeding Lepidoptera have been observed piercing the skin of their hosts during feeding, while tear-feeding Lepidoptera have been observed frequenting the eyes of hosts in order to directly obtain lachrymal fluid. These behaviors have negative human health implications and some potential for disease transmission. In this study, articles concerning feeding behavior of blood, sweat, and tear-feeding Lepidoptera were reviewed, with emphasis on correlations between morphological characters and feeding behaviors. Harmful effects and vector potential of these Lepidoptera are presented and discussed.
Puddling, a behavior in which butterflies and other insects aggregate on mineral-rich substrates such as mud, animal excrement, carrion, and even human perspiration, is a well-documented phenomenon in both temperate and tropical regions. This behavior is thought to compensate for the limited access to micronutrients in the adult diet that are important for fitness, primarily sodium and nitrogen, essential for nervous system function, growth, and reproductive processes. In this review, we consolidate existing knowledge on butterfly puddling and highlight key gaps in our understanding. The review is organized into 4 main themes: the benefits of puddling, social dynamics in puddling, sensory cues for site selection, and behavioral variation across species and regions. We explore how nutrient preferences are influenced by diet, environmental factors, and evolutionary history, with a particular focus on the role of sodium and nitrogen. We also discuss the potential reproductive benefits of puddling, including its impact on mating success and fecundity. In addition, we consider the sensory and social mechanisms butterflies use to locate suitable puddling sites. Lastly, we give a short overview on puddling in moths. This review identifies several areas for future research, particularly in understanding the adaptive significance of puddling across different taxa and environments.
Abstract Lepidoptera have long been known to feed on the tears of vertebrates as a presumed source of minerals or nutrients. While this unusual behavior has been observed in a variety of species, only a single previous record has been documented outside of the tropics. Here, we present the first documentation of moths visiting the eyes of a bull moose ( Alces americanus americanus ), captured via trail camera in Green Mountain National Forest, Vermont, United States. We discuss the biogeography of this behavior, how it may differ between tropical and temperate climates, and its potential impact on moose health.
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