Butterfly id

[Moreliaman]

That's fascinating miss, thanks for that link, although i notice that that species is also in the lycaenidae family, would be interesting for do some research on this species & others, i have seen actual footage of large blue larvae eating ant eggs & ant larvae, & im sure if 1 species does then other will for sure.....i think it was in a BBC doco a few years ago, infact im sure there was some in the recent "life in the undergrowth" series....I'll have to see if i can find it....was fascinating to watch & hear the larvae making the noises, it even continues through the pupal stage, right up to the day it hatches......amazing stuff.

Sorry Hornet.....we've hijacked youre thread !!

 

[hornet]

no worries, interesting to read what you guys are saying.

 

[Moreliaman]

Its really interesting stuff hornet & ive always found it fascinating, like most my intrest into entomology started at childhood & its sad to know that even now in this day & age some of the species that have been known to science for years, they still know nothing about their life cycles.
Scientists believe theres still millions of species of insects that have yet to be discovered & theres new species of insects being discovered everyday.

I looked at the BBC doco i was on about (Life in the Undergrowth no:5 - intimate relations) but it was'nt the large blue they filmed, it was the alcon blue (maculinea alcon) which doesnt eat ants, it just gets fed by them, interesting turn around though, as the larvae thinks its safe inside the ants nest, but a parasitic wasp is sometimes able to locate exactly which nests have larvae in them & can enter the nest releasing its own pheromone to confuse the ants so that they start attacking eachother, it then seeks out the larvae & injects it with its own parasitic egg!

I found a video on the BBC website about the large blue, it tells you that the larvae eat the ant young, but unfortunately doesnt actually show it in the clip:?.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/earth/nature/uk/record/1276

 

[hornet]

i got the life in the undergrowth dvd a few weeks back, some amazing footage.