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 45 monarch chef DHJanzen100308.jpg high resolution
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| A spectacular example of the phenomenon described in DHJanzen100283.jpg above is offered by monarch butterfly caterpillars. The large bubble of latex on the stem is the result of crudely ripping off a leaf - and the latex flows freely from the broken latex vessels. Just above it is the scraped and chewed base of the leaf above, which the monarch has done to be able to eat the leaf (almost gone) in peace. No, I do not know why no latex at all appears to come out when the caterpillar does its damage to the petiole - it may be that it actually pinches the latex vessels shut while biting, rather than actually cutting through tissue - an area for research. | ||
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