 |
| Strange looks and stranger habits... (Jackie Best) |
- Large Blue: Big Blue Baby Eater
- Vampire Moth: The Terror That Flaps in the Night
- Chalkhill Blue: Hired Muscle
- Erebid Moth: The Tear Drinker
- Mandolin Moth: A Moth Musician
- Water Veneer: All Terrain Insect
- Death's-Head Hawkmoth: The Hive Raider
- Eupithecia Moth Caterpillar: Grappling Grubs
1. Large Blue: Big Blue Baby Eater
The large blue butterfly of Europe (Phengaris arion or Maculinea arion) plays an extremely dangerous game. The caterpillar starts off feeding on a wild thyme flower, but will happily kill and consume any of its fellows that get too close. Fast forward a bit and the caterpillar changes its behavior to something more manipulative.Dropping from the flower, the caterpillar plays dead and produces a sweet-scented liquid that attracts ants - specifically worker drones collecting nectar for food. Having encountered this seemingly sweet treat, the unwitting drones take a shine to the caterpillar... and when it curls up to resemble a grub, the ants bring it back to their colony.
Once inside, the caterpillar stealthily eats as many as two-hundred ant grubs before pupating. If all goes well, the ants never discover the killer in their midst - they'll even protect the caterpillar from attack.
Researchers think that a low sodium intake drove the moth to their haemovoric habits. To ensure that caterpillars have enough sodium to survive, male moths take a blood meal from a victim that they pass on to the female during courtship.
By secreting a sugary fluid laced with amino acids, the caterpillars make themselves invaluable to carnivorous ants that would otherwise consider them lunch. Instead, the ants "guard" their employer, killing any would-be predator while benefiting from the honeydew it produces. They even pupate near ant hills, safe in the knowledge that the ants value them alive more than dead.
4. Erebid Moth: The Tear DrinkerMany Lepidoptera seek out salt - they may collect it from the surface of stones, sweat, or even go "mud-puddling" to sip it up from flooded bits of ground. The Gorgone macarea moth takes things a bit further though - it perches on the head of a sleeping bird, gently sliding a proboscis into their eye. It then proceeds to suck up the tears produced by the irritated eye of the sleeper - all without waking them.
This is obviously a fairly risky strategy, but the fluid that makes up tears is a rich reward - the various enzymes and proteins that clean and protect the eye are a good protein supplement for a nectar diet!
The slightly concave wings of the male moths include a prominent vein that forms a knot sticking out above the surface. By stroking it with a hind leg the male can produce a song, potentially luring female moths with his acoustic body and talent.
Male adults have wings and live above the water, flying around like normal moths. Females come in two varieties, one winged like the males, and another vastly more common wingless type that lives on or just beneath the water. The male will typically mate with the female on the surface of the water, before the female dives down to lay eggs in the depths.
Sinister appearance aside, the strangest thing about these moths is their habit of raiding bee hives. They can emit chemicals that mimic the scent of the unwitting colony insects, allowing them to infiltrate a hive and consume honey. Since the bees often rely on scent to identify an intruder, this olfactory camouflage can let the moth evade detection!
8. Eupithecia Moth Caterpillar: Grappling GrubsCaterpillars are usually the victim of predation, but six members of the Eupithecia genus found in Hawaii are dangerous ambush predators themselves.
Some of the caterpillars chew away a portion of a leaf, situating themselves in the gap they just created rather than eating the plant material. Others hold themselves out from the stem of a plant, looking like any other twig. When an unfortunate fly wanders by, the caterpillar lunges and grabs them with a set of spiny legs... holding them in place whilst they feed.
Some researchers suggest that this predatory habit evolved out of a protein-rich flower pollen diet and defensive snapping behavior - the abundance of nutrient-rich fruit flies provided an opportunity too good for evolution to pass up!
2. Vampire Moth: The Terror That Flaps in the Night
Hailing from southern Europe, the ancestors of the vampire moth (Calyptra thalictri) were once peaceful insects that used a sharp proboscis to punch into fruit. Their descendants use this proboscis to drill through skin (including that of humans) and supplement their diet with blood. Their range has increased dramatically over time - they can now be found in Siberia and northern Europe.Researchers think that a low sodium intake drove the moth to their haemovoric habits. To ensure that caterpillars have enough sodium to survive, male moths take a blood meal from a victim that they pass on to the female during courtship.
3. Chalkhill Blue: Hired Muscle
The chalkhill blue (Polyommatus coridon) is a small butterfly found in Europe - only the males are actually blue, with females being light brown and both carrying speckles on their wings. Their caterpillars feed on horseshoe vetch (a ground-level creeping flower) that should leave them quite vulnerable to predation, but they have a defensive trick up their sleeve - they "hire" muscle to protect them.By secreting a sugary fluid laced with amino acids, the caterpillars make themselves invaluable to carnivorous ants that would otherwise consider them lunch. Instead, the ants "guard" their employer, killing any would-be predator while benefiting from the honeydew it produces. They even pupate near ant hills, safe in the knowledge that the ants value them alive more than dead.
 |
| Enough to make a predator think twice... (Akbar Nemati) |
4. Erebid Moth: The Tear DrinkerMany Lepidoptera seek out salt - they may collect it from the surface of stones, sweat, or even go "mud-puddling" to sip it up from flooded bits of ground. The Gorgone macarea moth takes things a bit further though - it perches on the head of a sleeping bird, gently sliding a proboscis into their eye. It then proceeds to suck up the tears produced by the irritated eye of the sleeper - all without waking them.
This is obviously a fairly risky strategy, but the fluid that makes up tears is a rich reward - the various enzymes and proteins that clean and protect the eye are a good protein supplement for a nectar diet!
5. Mandolin Moth: A Moth Musician
If you picture insects that produce a song, you might think of crickets and cicadas but almost certainly not a moth. The male mandolin moth (Rileyiana fovea) seems to have taken prompts from romance movies everywhere - it plays a song when attempting to court a female.The slightly concave wings of the male moths include a prominent vein that forms a knot sticking out above the surface. By stroking it with a hind leg the male can produce a song, potentially luring female moths with his acoustic body and talent.
6. Water Veneer: All Terrain Insect
Native to Europe, the water veneer (Acentria ephemerella) is a semi-aquatic moth that has also reached the Great Lakes of the USA. The caterpillars live underwater, absorbing oxygen through their skin and eating pondweed. Eventually they pupate, remaining in a cocoon filled with air beneath the surface.Male adults have wings and live above the water, flying around like normal moths. Females come in two varieties, one winged like the males, and another vastly more common wingless type that lives on or just beneath the water. The male will typically mate with the female on the surface of the water, before the female dives down to lay eggs in the depths.
7. Death's-Head Hawkmoth: The Hive Raider
The death's head hawkmoths are three separate insects from the genus Acherontia, each famous for the skull-like pattern emblazoned on their back. They can be found in Asia, Europe and Africa... and weirdly, each species can "chirp" in an attempt to deter predators.Sinister appearance aside, the strangest thing about these moths is their habit of raiding bee hives. They can emit chemicals that mimic the scent of the unwitting colony insects, allowing them to infiltrate a hive and consume honey. Since the bees often rely on scent to identify an intruder, this olfactory camouflage can let the moth evade detection!
 |
| Sneaky... (michellegrewe) |
Some of the caterpillars chew away a portion of a leaf, situating themselves in the gap they just created rather than eating the plant material. Others hold themselves out from the stem of a plant, looking like any other twig. When an unfortunate fly wanders by, the caterpillar lunges and grabs them with a set of spiny legs... holding them in place whilst they feed.
Some researchers suggest that this predatory habit evolved out of a protein-rich flower pollen diet and defensive snapping behavior - the abundance of nutrient-rich fruit flies provided an opportunity too good for evolution to pass up!
Thanks for reading - for more strange beasts, try...