Do monarch butterflies attend PA meetings?
Feb 27, 2023 6:40:33 GMT
Woodpecker, vickilynn, and 1 more like this
Post by bluemingidiot on Feb 27, 2023 6:40:33 GMT
The puzzle of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) and their association with plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids - Lawson - 2021 - Ecological Entomology - Wiley Online Library
"What do nicotine, codeine, morphine, caffeine, and diamorphine (better known as heroin) all have in common? If you said they're all addictive substances, you're right. Specifically, these addictive substances belong to a group of molecules called alkaloids."
"Certain butterflies utilize plant-acquired alkaloids for their own chemical defense and/or for producing male sex pheromone; a trait known as pharmacophagy."
"A drug metabolite is a byproduct of the body breaking down, or “metabolizing,” a drug into a different substance. The process of metabolizing a drug is predictable and certain; everyone metabolizes drugs the same way."
"Drug alkaloids form the key ingredient in some 'harder drugs' that make them not just more addictive but also more potent than the alternatives."
"The plant most commonly associated with alkaloids is the poppy, which can be used to produce opium. Other common plants include nightshades and buttercups."
"Flowers of several composite plants (Asteraceae), including
C. coelestinum (bluemist) are considered favorite nectar sources for
monarchs and queens in the USA.
Is their attractiveness primarily because of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in their nectar?
"A monarch can live without PAs but might live longer and/or gain higher biological fitness when sequestering PAs."
"What do nicotine, codeine, morphine, caffeine, and diamorphine (better known as heroin) all have in common? If you said they're all addictive substances, you're right. Specifically, these addictive substances belong to a group of molecules called alkaloids."
"Certain butterflies utilize plant-acquired alkaloids for their own chemical defense and/or for producing male sex pheromone; a trait known as pharmacophagy."
"A drug metabolite is a byproduct of the body breaking down, or “metabolizing,” a drug into a different substance. The process of metabolizing a drug is predictable and certain; everyone metabolizes drugs the same way."
"Drug alkaloids form the key ingredient in some 'harder drugs' that make them not just more addictive but also more potent than the alternatives."
"The plant most commonly associated with alkaloids is the poppy, which can be used to produce opium. Other common plants include nightshades and buttercups."
"Flowers of several composite plants (Asteraceae), including
C. coelestinum (bluemist) are considered favorite nectar sources for
monarchs and queens in the USA.
Is their attractiveness primarily because of pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) in their nectar?
"A monarch can live without PAs but might live longer and/or gain higher biological fitness when sequestering PAs."