Imperial Hairstreak : Approaching Chrysalises ...
The bug like things on the plant are chrysalises. The adult butterflies tend to gather round the chyrsalies, together with attendant ants, look after them / protect them.
According to papaki2008 :-"Lycaenidae have a special relationship called myrmecophily -In some species, larvae are attended and protected by ants while feeding on the host plant, and the ants receive sugar-rich honeydew from them, throughout the larval life, and in some species during the pupal stage."
Imperial Hairstreak : Approaching Chrysalises ...
The bug like things on the plant are chrysalises. The adult butterflies tend to gather round the chyrsalies, together with attendant ants, look after them / protect them.
According to papaki2008 :-"Lycaenidae have a special relationship called myrmecophily -In some species, larvae are attended and protected by ants while feeding on the host plant, and the ants receive sugar-rich honeydew from them, throughout the larval life, and in some species during the pupal stage."