Yellow Sulphured Butterfly Ventral View While Puddling Stock Image

This is a Coliadinae subfamily butterfly. There are about 35 species in the Neotropical region. Sometimes is not easy to identify the specific species. By sipping moisture from mud puddles, butterflies take in salts and minerals from the soil. This behavior is called puddling, and is mostly seen in male butterflies. That's because males incorporate those extra salts and minerals into their sperm. When butterflies mate, the nutrients are transferred to the female through the spermatophore. These extra salts and minerals improve the viability of the female's eggs, increasing the couple's chances of passing on their genes to another generation. Observed near lake Petén Itzá shores, El Remate village.