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Moths - Blog Posts
Chinese Luna Moth
This is a drawing of Chinese Luna moth. Females are typically more green, while males have a pastel pink, yellow, and green palette. Males are also smaller than the females. These moths can be found in the mountainous forests of Southeast Asia, including parts of China, Vietnam, Laos, and potentially Taiwan. I really like this moth because it’s super fluffy and it reminds me of Mitsuri from Demon Slayer.
insects ive seen this week
1: long tailed giant ichneumonid wasp
2: imperial moth
3: polyphemus moth
Sharing drawings makes me happy. So, have some reshared drawings. :D
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Moths in Disguise: these are all just harmless moths that have developed the ability to mimic wasps, bees, and/or hornets
Top Row (left to right): Eusphecia pimplaeformis and Myrmecopsis polistes; Bottom Row: Pennisetia marginatum
Moths are exceptionally skilled when it comes to mimicry, and there are hundreds of moth species that rely on that tactic as a way to protect themselves from predators. Their disguises are numerous and varied, but hymenopteran mimicry is particularly common, especially among the moths that belong to subfamily Sesiidae and family Arctiinae.
Yellowjacket-Mimicking Moths: Pseudosphex sp. (top and bottom left) and Myrmecopsis polistes (bottom right)
Some of their disguises involve more than just a physical resemblance -- there are some moths that also engage in behavioral and/or acoustic mimicry, meaning that they can imitate the specific sounds and behaviors of their hymenopteran models. In some cases, these moths are so convincing that they can even fool the actual wasps/bees that they are mimicking.
Such a detailed and intricate disguise is unusual even among mimics, and researchers believe that it developed partly as a way to trick the wasps into treating the mimic like one of their own. Wasps tend to prey upon moths (and many other insects), but they are innately non-aggressive toward their own nest-mates, which are identified by sight -- so if the moth can convincingly impersonate its model, then it can avoid being eaten by predatory wasps.
Wasp-Mimicking Moths: Pseudosphex ichneumonea (top), Myrmecopsis sp. (bottom left), and Pseudosphex sp. (bottom right)
There are many moths that can also mimic hornets, bumblebees, and carpenter bees.
Hornet-Mimicking Moths: Eusphecia pimplaeformis (top left), Sesia apiformis (bottom left), Paranthrene simulans (top right), Pennisetia marginatum (middle right), and Sphecodoptera scribai (bottom left)
Bumblebee-Mimicking Moths: Hemaris tityus (top and bottom left) and Hemaris affinis (bottom right)
Moths are some of the most talented mimics in the natural world, as illustrated by their mastery of hymenopteran mimicry. But it's not just bees, hornets, and wasps -- there are many other forms of mimicry that can be found among moths, and the resemblance is often staggering.
Moths deserve far more credit than they receive, to be honest, because they are so incredibly interesting/diverse.
Sources & More Info:
Journal of Ecology and Evolution: A Hypothesis to Explain the Accuracy of Wasp Resemblances
Frontiers in Zoology: Southeast Asian clearwing moths buzz like their model bees
Royal Society Publishing: Moving like a model: mimicry of hymenopteran flight trajectories by clearwing moths of Southeast Asian rainforests
The Seer Waits ♡
"youve certainly made my dreary work here more exciting. being the caretaker of this place hasnt been very stimulating. i shouldnt complain, though. tending these graves and guiding the wielder... all penitence for old crimes. certain things have to be kept in balance." week 42! and i say, let there be purple! ive been wanting to draw this crazy old lady for a while, but this week i finally got to it! felt like she needs more rep, shes a lovely character. anywhos, been rough lately, but thank you for checking out my work! your support keeps me going, and i hope you have a wonderful week!
I won? Kinda? Maybe? Fuck yeah
Okay, so, I decided to mess around in Google while I had my free time and found something interesting:
Remember when bill said?
About that. I decided to look through moths and found one INTERESTING specimen.
STAY WITH ME. Let's list up the coincidences.
FIRST of all: "Euclidia" in the name (I know where that resonates from, I know.)
SECOND of all: Triquetra - "triangular figure"
THIRD of all: That damn moth is yellow shaded with black triangular patters on its wings.
This specific moth would be Fords FAVORITE, in the image of his muse.
He would be so proud of it. [heartbroken] [heartbroken]
okay now let's move to whatever I had in mind later on:
"There is a specialized relationship with host plants is common in moths and it adds a unique ecological dimension to each species, including Euclidia triquerta."
As I read, for Euclidia triquerta it's preferably clovers.
I just imagined Bill being THIS specific moth, while Ford is a four leaved clover. (Clover with four leaves represent "luck and fortune", but in reality this is just the meaning which people assigned to four leaved clover themselves, just for it having something "extra and rare". But in reality It's not any different from avarage three leaved clover. and never will be.)
Back to their relationship:
"together they create a symbiotic relationship where clovers provide a rich and safe food source for the moths, in turn, help with clover's natural ecosystem dynamics, stimulating plant growth."
One helps the other to grow at the end for moth to eat it, because it's nature and that's how it works.
I am ready to make an AU out of this and I don't know how because it will look absolutely ridiculous. Can work with moth but how am I gonna make him a CLOVER......
Don't mess with us, gravity falls fans, we're psychotic
Okay, so, I decided to mess around in Google while I had my free time and found something interesting:
Remember when bill said?
About that. I decided to look through moths and found one INTERESTING specimen.
STAY WITH ME. Let's list up the coincidences.
FIRST of all: "Euclidia" in the name (I know where that resonates from, I know.)
SECOND of all: Triquetra - "triangular figure"
THIRD of all: That damn moth is yellow shaded with black triangular patters on its wings.
This specific moth would be Fords FAVORITE, in the image of his muse.
He would be so proud of it. [heartbroken] [heartbroken]
okay now let's move to whatever I had in mind later on:
"There is a specialized relationship with host plants is common in moths and it adds a unique ecological dimension to each species, including Euclidia triquerta."
As I read, for Euclidia triquerta it's preferably clovers.
I just imagined Bill being THIS specific moth, while Ford is a four leaved clover. (Clover with four leaves represent "luck and fortune", but in reality this is just the meaning which people assigned to four leaved clover themselves, just for it having something "extra and rare". But in reality It's not any different from avarage three leaved clover. and never will be.)
Back to their relationship:
"together they create a symbiotic relationship where clovers provide a rich and safe food source for the moths, in turn, help with clover's natural ecosystem dynamics, stimulating plant growth."
One helps the other to grow at the end for moth to eat it, because it's nature and that's how it works.
I am ready to make an AU out of this and I don't know how because it will look absolutely ridiculous. Can work with moth but how am I gonna make him a CLOVER......
Don't mess with us, gravity falls fans, we're psychotic
Number 13 from my #mothtober is the incredible Comet Moth of Madagascar Moon Moth (October is a state of mind, these will def be taking me more than one month due to ~secret news for later~)