Micronia aculeata

That night coming home for dinner I spotted this moth on our kitchen floor. Being a pretty common moth around my house I assumed that I will get lot of information about this white moth. It was sitting on the vitrified floor tile which I have used in my kitchen. Dark clay color of the tile was a great contrast to the white, grey moth. Unfortunately the profile picture of the moth was impossible to get as it was sitting as though it was firmly stuck to the tile. That is why you see the picture from one angle here. I used Canon EOS 5D mark II with Canon EF 100mm F2.8L USM Macro lens illuminated with Canon Speedlite 580EXII fitted with ExpoImaging Ray Flash Adapter.

Micronia aculeata

When I searched internet for the information about this moth, I drew blank. Even thoughit is so common we hardly know anything about it. This Micronia aculeata moth belongs to Uraniidae family of moths. Unfortunately I could not find any common name for this moth. Some have called it Wayanad greystripe moth. It is found throughout India, China, Taiwan, SriLanka, Burma; Andaman, Java and Borneo. The adult moths of this species have speckled pale brown wings with two faint darker submarginal bands. Each forewing has a hooked apex, and at the tornus of each hindwing there is a short tail with a black spot.

Micronia aculeata

Like many moths in the family Uraniidae, the moth has its wings open and flat in its resting posture. It is also a day flying moth. Thanks to Haneesh K.M we have Life cycle of Micronia aculeata on Flickr. Host plant for its caterpillar is Green Milkweed Climber Wattakaka volubilis.

Miresa Moth

It was raining heavily on that day, I saw a brown hairy moth sitting the shade of Cashew (Anacardium occidentale) leaf. It had dull yellowish body, pale yellow hindwings and rufous brown forewings with yellowish white patches. I used Canon EOS 5D mark II with Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM lens using Rayflash on my Canon Speedlite 580EX II

Thanks to Roger C. Kendrick of Hong Kong Moths I could Identify it as Miresa Species of moth belonging to Limacodidae family of moths in the superfamily Zygaenoidea. They are often called slug moths because their caterpillars bear a distant resemblance to slugs. They are also called cup moths because of the shape of their cocoons. They are mostly tropical, but occur worldwide, with about 1000 described species and probably many more as yet undescribed species.

They are small, hairy moths, with reduced or absent mouthparts and fringed wings. They often perch with their abdomens sticking out at 90 degrees from the thorax and wings. Caterpillars of these moths are typically very flattened, and instead of prolegs they have suckers. The thoracic legs are reduced, but always present and they locomote by rolling waves rather than walking with individual prolegs. They even use a lubricant, a kind of liquified silk to move on.

Miresa Moth

The Limacodidae are perhaps best known for their slug-like larvae, sometimes smooth, but usually invested with urticating spines that can cause profound irritation to the skin, leading to their common name of ‘nettle-grubs’. The larvae of most species appear to be polyphagous, feeding on a wide range of plant families. No obvious examples of specificity have been located.

The Limacodidae family larvae attack a wide variety of crops, mainly trees and shrubs such as coconut palm (Elaeis, Cocos), banana (Musa, Musaceae), coffee (Coffea, Rubiaceae), tea (Camellia, Theaceae), cocoa (Theobroma, Sterculiaceae), Citrus various (Rutaceae), mango (Mangifera, Anacardiaceae), and rambutan (Nephelium, Sapindaceae).

Gastropacha Species of Lappet Moth

Lappet moths are a very interesting group of moths. As we saw in the first part of this 3 part series called Lappet Moth – Trabala Species. We also noticed in the second part Trabala in Trouble. Now let us see the adult version of a species from this group. This fascinating moth resemble a dried leaf when at rest. This moth belongs to Gastropacha species of Lappet moth (Lasiocampidae) family. I found this at night under Mangalore tile roof my house staying motionless like a dry leaf. When I picked it up to get closer look it excreted a smelly liquid from its caudal end probably to startle me. It remained motionless despite all the disturbances like a dry leaf. they have a snout which resembles the stalk of the dry leaf, combed antenna is fold back on the body.

Predators of this moth are the bats, and they do not see these moth like we do. They see them through sound waves by echo location. In fact the scales of this moth is so modified that ultrasonic signals used by bats to locate these moth just fails as the scale in this moth absorb those signals. The wing scale cover reduces the potential of the ultrasonic signal reflected from these moths of Gastropacha species. Absorption of a considerable part of the reflected signal decreases the sound pressure. This property of the wing scale cover enables the moth to prevents bat from finding the moth in the night. It is invisible to us as well as bats by this great camouflage.

Gastropacha resting on a stick

Camouflage, whereby animals seek to look inanimate or inedible to avoid detection by predators and prey. There are many examples of rainforest species which are cryptically colored to match their surroundings. For example, the Uroplatus geckos of Madagascar are incredible masters of disguise and are practically unnoticeable to the passer-by. An even more amazing group is the katydids, a group of grasshopper-like insects found worldwide. Katydids are nocturnal insects which use their cryptic coloration to remain unnoticed during the day when they are inactive. They remain perfectly still, often in a position that makes them blend in even better. Katydids have evolved to the point where their body coloring and shape matches leaves?including half-eaten leaves, dying leaves, and leaves with bird droppings?sticks, twigs, and tree bark. Other well-known camouflage artists include beetles, mantids, caterpillars, moths, snakes, lizards, and frogs.

Some species appear to have conspicuous coloration when they are not in the proper surroundings. For example, among the brilliant butterflies of the forest, the magnificent electric blue Morpho, has iridescent blue upper wings and a seven-inch wingspan. However, because the underwings are dark, when the Morpho flies through the flickering light of the forest or even out in broad daylight, it seems to disappear. Other forest species, especially mammals, have spots or stripes to help break up the animal’s outline. In the shade created by the canopy, large mammals like leopards, jaguars, ocelots, and okapi are surprisingly difficult to see with their disruptive coloration.

Gastropacha from top

There is a strong evolutionary pressure for animals to blend into their environment or conceal their shape; for prey animals to avoid predators and for predators to be able to sneak up on prey. (Exceptions include: large herbivores without natural enemies; brilliantly-colored birds which rely on flight to escape predators; and venomous or poisonous animals which advertise with bright colors.) Cryptic animals include the tawny frogmouth (feather patterning resembles bark), the tuatara (hides in burrows all day; nocturnal), some jellyfish (transparent), the leafy sea dragon, and the flounder (covers itself in sediment).

The distinction between camouflage and mimicry is arbitrarily defined in that mimicry requires that the “model” be another organism, rather than the surroundings; the arbitrary nature of this distinction between the two phenomena can be seen by considering animals that resemble twigs, bark, leaves or flowers, in that they are often classified as camouflaged (a plant does constitute the “surroundings”), but sometimes classified as mimics (a plant is also an organism). Either way, the animal is considered cryptic.

Gastropacha on a paper

Camouflage is usually most effective when an animal is still. Cryptic animals that forage during daylight may be ambush predators, taking advantage of their ability to blend into their background. Alternatively, cryptic animals may be active predators in darkness and use their crypsis while inactive. Some cryptic animals also simulate natural movement, e.g., of a leaf in the wind. This is called procryptic behaviour or habit. Other animals attach or attract natural materials to their body for concealment.