Love Among the Bugs: Courtship

Butterflies have a remarkable variety in their length and manner of courtship before mating. In many cases the male of the species will fly above or behind the female butterfly and follow her for some time while fluttering his wings more than usual.

The Perfume of Butterflies: Male butterflies are often equipped with scales on their wings that are ‘scented’ with pheromones called androconia. These specialized scales contain glandular structures that produce an odor to attract the opposite sex. Androconia are often grouped in patches on the butterfly wing and can be seen by the naked eye. In the photo above the male monarch is shown (top of photo) and black dots can be seen on the hind wing that are not present on the hind wing of the female (bottom of photo). Chemoreceptors in the antennae of butterflies help males and females to identify available mates by detecting pheromones.

The Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) butterfly of Europe produces a pheromone that is perceptible by some humans and has been described as smelling like musty hay, a cigar box or old socks.

Not Tonight Dear: Females that have already mated or are unreceptive to mating will often hold their wings in a position that covers their abdomen, flutter their wings to block access to their abdomen or just hold their abdomen in a position that makes mating impossible. Disinterested females may also fly away to escape the unwanted advances of a male butterfly. This can be seen in species of Sulphurs when the females fly upwards in a spiral until the male loses interest and gives up the chase. Some females butterflies can also release and anti-aphrodisiac which is a chemical that dulls the mating interest of the opposite sex.

In the photo to the right, the female skipper has perched on a leaf after being followed by a male for quite some time. The male butterfly followed this female for at least 10 minutes and spent some length of time perched on the leaf waiting for the female to show signs of interest. The female skipper kept her wings shivering almost continuously which seemed to make copulation impossible for the male. He eventually lost interest and headed for nectar plants laden with other, hopefully more receptive females.

Success: If the male is able to successfully convince the female, copulation can take anywhere from about an hour to a remarkable 17 days observed in a pair of Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) butterflies. The male butterfly is equipped with a pair of claspers at the end of the abdomen which are used to hold onto the female abdomen until mating is completed. Mating pairs often seek shelter and therefore butterfly mating is not an overly common sight in the wild. When disturbed mating pairs can even be seen flying while still connected as they seek a safer location to complete their tryst.