Hair pencils are a unique organ that is present in the males of many butterflies and moths. These structures, which resemble small brightly colored powder puffs, are extruded from the abdomens of male butterflies and moths as part of their courtship rituals with the females. When a male butterfly sees a female that he desires, he will begin courting her. This often takes place through a series of magnificent aerial acrobatics, with both members circling each other in mid flight. As the male butterfly does this he extrudes his hair pencils and pheromones are fanned towards the females with the aid of his wings. The cocktail of pheromones that are produced by the hair pencils serve as an aphrodisiac, but also a tranquilizer, to the females and is thought to facilitate the mating process. For want of a better word, think of it as a Love potion, mixed with a Roofie for good measure. *The butterfly pictured was caught in 2012 so I could demonstrate the structure of the hair pencils to a small group of students whom I was teaching about butterflies (in lieu of the Butterflies for Urban Spaces program, an initiative to encourage people to maintain gardens for butterflies and other pollinators to breed). This handsome chap was subsequently released, unharmed, after the procedure*
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 01:02:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015