The Password That Lets Caterpillars Hide in an Ant’s Lair
The New York Times • • general
Key Points:
- Ant colonies serve as well-defended fortresses providing food and protection, attracting other insects seeking shelter and resources.
- Researchers have discovered that certain butterflies, specifically gossamer-winged butterflies in the Lycaenidae family, have evolved to communicate acoustically and chemically to infiltrate ant colonies.
- Baby caterpillars of these butterflies trick ants by mimicking their sounds and pheromones, sometimes even imitating ant queens, which leads ants to care for them until they mature into butterflies.
- This form of communication and deception allows the caterpillars to gain safe shelter inside the ant colonies, a phenomenon studied by scientists for centuries but only recently better understood.
