Sunday, 27 January 2013

MOTH FACTS

1.
There are many more species of moths than butterflies. Moths
make up 90 percent of theLepidoptera order, whilst butterflies
make up only 10 per cent.

2.
There are four steps in becoming a mothThese are
egg, larvae (caterpillar), pupa, and adult. Caterpillars shed their skin as
they grow, then form a cocoon and change into a moth. This process is called
metamorphosis, which comes from the Latin words for "changing shape."

Moth
caterpillars spin a silk cocoon. Once a cocoon is spun, the caterpillar turns
into a mushy soup during metamorphosis.

3.
Small is beautiful

Tiger moths

The
smallest known moths are from the pygmy moth family (Nepticulidae) with
wingspans as small as 2 mm.

4.
Not all moths are petiteThe
world's largest moth is the Atlas moth (Attacus atlas) which has a wingspan as
large as 30 cms.

5.
They have scalesThe
powder that rubs off when you touch a moth's wing is actually tiny
scales. Thousands of tiny scales and hairs cover moth’s wings. The moth
sheds these scales throughout its lifetime. Scales on moths are much larger
than on butterflies, giving a more dense and dusty appearance.

6. Many
adult moths don't eatSome
species of moths don’t have mouth parts, proboscis, for eating when an adult.
They rely on their fat reserves stored during the larval stage.

Comet moth

The adult
Luna moth (Actias luna) lives for only a week, emerging from their cocoon only
to mate and lay eggs.

7. Moths
are expert sniffersAlthough
they lack noses they detect odour molecules using their feathery
antennae. Male
giant silkworm moths (Antheraea polyphemus) have elaborate, feather-shaped
antennae with hair like scent receptors that allow them to detect a single
molecule of a female moth's sex hormone from 7 miles (11 kilometres) away.

8. Moths
navigate by the stars in the sky.Most
moths are nocturnal but seem to be attracted to light. They navigate by using
the moon as a point of reference and so can easily get confused by other light
sources such as outdoor lights.

Hummingbird Hawk moth

9. Moths
often mimic other animalsMany
moths are day fliers and will mimic bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. To
avoid being eaten, some moths have evolved to look like less palatable insects,
such as wasps, tarantulas and the praying mantis. Some moths even mimic bird
droppings. Tiger moths (Arctia caja) produce ultrasonic clicking sounds that
effectively jam bat sonar,
inhibiting the bat's ability to find them.

10.
There are a lot of them!Scientists
have identified some 200,000 species of moths world wide and suspect there may
be as many as five times that amount.