{"id":648044,"date":"2019-07-01T12:41:13","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T12:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"
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Butterfly pupae are easy targets for predators in search of an easy protein-rich meal, and one would think that the flashier the cocoon, the higher the chances of being spotted and eaten, but the Mechanitis Polymnia, aka the orange-spotted tiger clearwing and its shiny, gold-like pods are proof that the opposite is true.<\/p>\n

The orange-spotted tiger clearwing butterfly lives in the jungles of Central and South America, from Mexico all the way to the Amazon rain-forests. It\u2019s a colourful little thing, with a wingspan of 65 to 75 millimetres, but it\u2019s not exactly the most eye-catching of butterflies. Its pupae, however, are pure gold, literally. Well, not really literally, but they look just like elaborate gold jewellery hanging on the back of plant leaves, and even on the walls of houses in rural areas.<\/p>\n

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But unlike actual gold jewels, these shiny, metallic-looking chrysalises are not meant to draw attention, but distract predators and even discourage them from getting to close. It\u2019s a natural defence mechanism, and a very effective one at that.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cThey are actually very hard to see in nature, given the way all the colours are reflected,\u201d Dr Keith Willmott, one of the world\u2019s leading tropical butterfly experts, explains. It is believed that the shiny, reflective cocoon does a good job of concealing the pupa, making it seem like something else \u2013 such as hanging drops of water or simple shafts of light- to predators, and can even scare some threats away. Apparently, predators like birds, reptiles and giant spiders tend to run away when they detect the reflection of their own movement on the super-shiny chrysalis, mistaking it for a threat to themselves.<\/p>\n