Butterflies Self-Medicate

Just like frogs, butterflies produce their own medicine, and they dose themselves with it while they are still caterpillars. This is why Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on milkweed plants, which contain high levels of chemicals that are toxic to predators (but don’t hurt the caterpillars, which also feed on milkweed). In LiveScience.com, Andrea Leontiou quotes researcher Jaap De Roode as saying, "You look at these creatures that we think are very simple, and they can do this fantastic thing. They look at nature as a medicine cabinet. Other organisms learn to do this from their parents, but monarchs don’t learn self medication, they do it innately." Lots of our listeners self-medicate too–they push away the vitriolic tongue lashings of the regular media and turn to unknowncountry.com for REAL NEWS from the edge. But we need YOU to keep this website going, and now only $3.95 gets you a one month subscription! But if you subscribe for 2 years you get a great deal: a FREE 2011 crop circle calendar, as well as (while supplies last) a 2010 calendar that you can use RIGHT NOW.