"The Ant, Butterfly, and the Oregano

Question

Plant"
by Nsikan Akpan
Large Blue caterpillars only gain 1 to 2 percent of their body weight by nibbling on the oregano leaves during the
early stages of life. The overwhelming majority of their sustenance — 98 to99 percent — comes from eating ants. But
if butterfly larvae tried to trick the wrong patsies —non-Myrmica ants — they’d likely get eaten. Guessing right is a
matter of life and death, and especially important given the Large Blue Butterfly has relatively few eggs and is
endangered.
From an evolutionary perspective, Thomas and Barbero say that the Large Blue butterflies gained an advantage by
using scents to glean which oregano plants are fighting off Myrmica invasions. At the same time, the plant only loses
a small, non-lethal amount of its leaves to the caterpillar. And though Myrmica might lose individual battles to the
butterflies, the ants are invasive enough that their total populations aren’t at risk of being harmed by the butterflies
Use the passage from “The Aunt, the Butterfly, and Their Chemical Warfare With the Oregano Plan”
by Nsikan Akpan to answer the question.
Connection: Large Blue caterpillars do not pose a significant threat to the oregano plant.
Which piece of evidence from the passage supports this connection? Select the two correct answers.
(1 point)
"The overwhelming majority of
their sustenance—98 to 99 percent
—comes from eating ants."
"But if butterfly larvae tried to trick
the wrong patsies—non-Mymirca
ants—they’d likely get eaten."
"And though Myrmica might lose
individual battles to the butterflies,
the ants are invasive enough that
their total populations aren’t at risk
of being harmed by the butterflies."
"From an evolutionary perspective,
Thomas and Barbero say that the
Large Blue butterflies gained an
advantage by using scents to
glean which oregano plants are
fighting off Myrmica invasions."
"Large Blue caterpillars only gain 1
to 2 percent of their body weight by
nibbling on the oregano leaves
during the early stages of life."

Answer 1

The two pieces of evidence from the passage that support the connection "Large Blue caterpillars do not pose a significant threat to the oregano plant" are:

1. "The overwhelming majority of their sustenance—98 to 99 percent—comes from eating ants."
2. "Large Blue caterpillars only gain 1 to 2 percent of their body weight by nibbling on the oregano leaves during the early stages of life."

These statements indicate that the caterpillars primarily rely on ants for sustenance and that their feeding on oregano leaves is minimal and not harmful to the plant.