The Plain Tiger butterfly is everywhere! | 台北市立動物園資訊網

2020年8月13日—Dependingontheweatherconditions,theeggmayhatchbetweenthreeandfivedays.Whenreadytohatch,thelarvainsidetheeggbustsopen ...

The Plain Tiger butterfly

Isn’t it odd that in a city that’s increasingly concretised, the Plain Tiger butterfly is thriving? That’s because their choice of larval host plants (food for caterpillars) — milkweed (aak in Hindi).

These plants contain toxins — cardenolides in the case of milkweed — that make the caterpillar as well the butterfly unpalatable. This plant also aids in the survival of the Painted Grasshopper and other insects. In fact, tribes across the world use the poison in the plant on arrow-heads to aid in hunting.

The vibrant colouration of the Plain Tiger sends a warning signal to its predators — birds, lizards — that they could be toxic. This defence mechanism is known as aposematism. The colouration is mimicked by other species like the female Danaid Eggfly butterfy that often move with Plain Tiger butterflies to avoid being eaten alive. This is another of nature’s defence mechanisms, called Batesian Mimicry. Yet another survival...