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Courtshipping
Blue Triangle butterflies
- Blue Triangle butterflies fly very fast and are seldom at rest. When they
are feeding on flowers, their wings are held vertically and constantly
vibrate.
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- The above pictures shows a pair of Blue Triangle Butterflies courtshipping.
The female and male butterflies are looked almost the same. When look
carefully, we can see the male bear a fringe of scent-bearing hairs along
the inner edges of his hindwings which he uses it to disperse scent to the
female.
Butterfly to find a Mate
- Male butterflies are believed to look for their mate by eye-sight. Some
species, such as the Australian Crow and Orchard
Swallowtail, patrol the field in search of females. Some species,
like the Common Eggfly,
take up and wait in some good positions, such as the opening and clearings
where the females will pass by. Some other species, e.g. the Glasswing
Butterfly, found gathering around hill tops.
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- However, the butterflies vision may not be very acute as sometimes they
may made mistakes. They may approach same sex or even other species
butterflies. So the male will also recognize the sexual behaviour patterns
of the female.
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- The male Australian Crow fluttering above the female.
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- Once the male recognizes a female, he will stimulate her sexually so
that mating can take place. In Australian Crow the male has the
scent-glands on the front wings. He will flutter above the female to
diffuse his perfume around the female. If he successful, she will settle
and mating can take place.
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- After mating, female butterfly will look for their caterpillars' host
plants, lay eggs and start the new life
cycle.
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Bee Flies' Courtship
- We sometimes see two Bee Flies flying together, one larger and one
smaller. The larger Bee fly chases the smaller one. When the smaller Bee
Fly rests, the larger rests a few cm away. When the smaller Bee Fly flies,
the larger follows closely.
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- In the insects world, usually the females are larger in size. When
courtship, usually the males chases the females. In this case, since the
larger follows the smaller, we cannot tell which is the male and which is
the female.
[ Up ] [ Mating and Reproduction ] [ Courtshipping ] [ Territorial Habits of Common Eggfly ] [ Parental Care ] [ Work for the Young ] [ Bug's strong hind legs ] [ Stick Insect Mate finding ]
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