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Project Noah Nature School
Heliotropium ternatum
The name "heliotrope" derives from the fact that these plants turn their rows of flowers to the sun. Danainae butterflies like to visit these plants. One reason is to drink the sap which renders the butterflies noxious to predators. Some species collect olfactory compounds to produce a kind of "perfume" to attract mates. Caterpillars of the Grass Jewel (Freyeria trochylus), a gossamer-winged butterfly, feed on H. strigosum.
Sides of roads in Yucatan tropical forest.
Spotted on Sep 12, 2011
Submitted on Sep 23, 2011
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