Close X
Monday, November 4, 2024
ADVT 
Health

Where butterflies, bees feed on crocodile tears!

Darpan News Desk IANS, 01 May, 2014 10:38 AM
    Look at those crocodile tears in your kid's eyes more carefully. These are an abundant source of salt and other rare minerals and proteins for some!
     
    Yes. An enthusiastic aquatic ecologist Carlos de la Rosa has captured butterflies and bees feeding on the tears of a crocodile relaxing on the banks of the Rio Puerto Viejo in northeastern Costa Rica.
     
    He watched in barely suppressed excitement for a quarter of an hour while the crocodile basked placidly and the insects fluttered about the corners of its eyes.
     
    “It was one of those natural history moments that you long to see up close," said de la Rosa, director at the Organisation for Tropical Field Studies in San Pedro, Costa Rica. 
     
    Though bountiful in the ocean, salt is often a rare and valuable resource on land, especially for vegetarians. 
     
    It is not uncommon to see butterflies sipping mineral-laden water from mud puddles. 
     
    When minerals are rare in the soil, animals sometimes gather salt and other rare minerals and proteins from sweat, tears, urine, and even blood.
     
    “Those are the kinds of things that, you know, you do not plan for them, you cannot plan for them,” de la Rosa said in a peer-reviewed letter appeared in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

    MORE Health ARTICLES

    Those living in affluent nations more stressed out: Study

    Those living in affluent nations more stressed out: Study
    “Life in an affluent country is more fast-paced, and there are just so many things that you have to do - leading to stress,” Louis Tay, an assistant professor of psychology at Indiana-based Purdue University, was quoted as saying.

    Those living in affluent nations more stressed out: Study

    Sexual conflict over mating affects women more: Study

    Sexual conflict over mating affects women more: Study
    In experiments on beetles, British researchers at University of Exeter used artificial selection and mating crosses among selection lines to determine if and how mating behaviours co-evolve with parental care behaviours.

    Sexual conflict over mating affects women more: Study

    Mind vs body: What is a better lie detector?

    Mind vs body: What is a better lie detector?
    To know if the person in front of you is lying, you may rely a lot on your instincts as more than the conscious mind, the body may act as a better lie detector, suggests a study.

    Mind vs body: What is a better lie detector?

    Alcohol, drugs together put kids at higher driving risk

    Alcohol, drugs together put kids at higher driving risk
    Teenagers who drink alcohol and smoke marijuana together may be at increased risk for unsafe driving, a study shows.

    Alcohol, drugs together put kids at higher driving risk

    New diabetes, obesity drug: Indian-American's promising research

    New diabetes, obesity drug: Indian-American's promising research
    Two researchers at Indiana University, including an Indian-American, are leading the way towards developing a new potential non-insulin drug for diabetes and obesity, which needs to be taken only once a week.

    New diabetes, obesity drug: Indian-American's promising research

    Build super muscles with soy-dairy protein

    Build super muscles with soy-dairy protein
    Not happy with gym results on your muscles? Try a blend of soy and dairy proteins after resistance exercises as this has now been touted as the best way to build muscle mass.

    Build super muscles with soy-dairy protein