Mudpuddling Pearl Crescents

Here's another example of mudpuddling butterflies, in this case Pearl Crescents. And as I've shown before, animal scat can be more nutritionally beneficial than mud, containing a concentration of minerals unlikely to be found anywhere.

Mudpuddling seems to be mostly a male activity. You might think this is because they need more nutrition to fight off other males looking to mate, but in many cases their motivation is more fatherly; males will frequently pass these nutrients as a "nuptial gift" to females during mating [1].

Another interesting thing about mudpuddling is that the activity draws other butterflies in. Apparently a spot perceived to be good for mudpuddling is sufficiently valuable to butterflies that if they see others using the spot they are likely to check it out themselves. Sometimes a good spot will attract dozens of butterflies, maybe spanning a few different species.

August 15, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 152591517, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

[1] Nuptial gifts aren't restricted to butterflies. Firefly males are also known to transfer them during mating.

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