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Project Noah Nature School
Acraea serena
In the dictionary for butterflies, weed is among of the fore words. At about 5.30pm in the evening, small Acraeas are always seen dancing over the weedy field, looking for a suitable plant-head to roost. There can be as many as five on a spot. In this photo, the weed is Tridax procumbens. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tridax_procumbens] Also, small lycaenids like the Tiny Grass Blue and Common Scarlet have been seen roosting singly on plants in bigger bushes. It is notable that most weeds are beneficial to butterflies for feeding as well. Their flowers provide nearly an endless supply of nectar if the weeds are not cleared unduly. Furthermore, many plants with little or no economic significance are essential for insect reproduction. Specific weeds play host to certain butterfly caterpillars after eggs laid on them have reached maturity. Hence absence of these hosts may result to shortage of particular butterfly species in a given location.
Field of Tridax proccumbens
Spotted on Oct 27, 2013
Submitted on Dec 27, 2013
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