Even good moths can make bad choices

rjlittlefield

Normally moths are pretty good about laying their eggs in appropriate places. After all, the survival of the clutch depends on it.

But once in a while, there's an exception...

That's right -- mommy moth laid her clutch in the middle of a plain white wall, fully 20 feet from the nearest vegetation of any kind. This is certainly among the strangest situations I've ever seen.

I have no idea what these things eat. They're doomed. Sad

--Rik

Technical: Canon 300D camera with 80 mm f/4 Olympus bellows lens at f/8, slightly over 2:1 onto the sensor, detached flash with paper towel diffuser. First two images are the same frame, second one cropped tighter. Last image is from Canon A710 IS, two shots layered.

Hairyduck · Joined: 07 Mar 2007 Posts: 87 Location: Cambridgeshire, UK

let's hope they don't eat wall coverings Laughing

lauriek · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 1:45 pm Post subject:

Might they eat each other 'till there's just one big one? Or could there be some plant fibre or other organic material they could eat in your wallpaper?

rjlittlefield · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject:

Well, it's not wallpaper --- it's white latex paint over texture consisting of sprayed clay. I've never heard of any caterpillar eating that, and as much of that wall material as there is in this community, such a critter would be big bad news.

Alas, eating each other 'til there's just one big one doesn't work either, at least as an exclusive strategy. The remaining big one would still be smaller than mommy, unless there's some other food somewhere along the way.

I'm still betting on a simple mistake.

--Rik

Cyclops · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 3:10 pm Post subject:

rjlittlefield · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 4:01 pm Post subject:

No houseplants near these caterpillars. I was serious about that "20 feet" estimate.

I'd like to leave them alone and see what they do. Disperse, move around as a group, stay in one place, eat the paint??

But I'm not sure how this is going to work out. I'm not the only person who lives here, and there's a bit of debate going on. Laughing

--Rik

Cyclops · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 4:10 pm Post subject:

rjlittlefield · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 5:33 pm Post subject:

P_T · Joined: 19 Jul 2008 Posts: 461 Location: Sydney, Australia

Where's the mommy anyway? Maybe the moth just couldn't hold it in anymore. Very Happy

rjlittlefield · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 6:51 pm Post subject:

P_T · Joined: 19 Jul 2008 Posts: 461 Location: Sydney, Australia

Harold Gough · Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 10:24 pm Post subject:

Captive moths will often lay their eggs on the mesh (mosquito netting etc.) of the cage.

Harold
_________________
Committed to the use of fine grain colour reversal film and manual focus lenses.

Ken Ramos · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 3:42 am Post subject:

Well if there is no cellulose in the wall material that rules out a meal, I would think but then I again I don't know about moth caterpillars or caterpillars in general either. Laughing

We have an ant/termite here that is capable of eating "dry wall," "sheet-rock" and some other building materials. Nasty little buggers that can really wreck a home. Sure is an unusual place for a moth to lay eggs though. Then again if the moth was trapped inside your home, well any port in a storm as they say, when you gotta' go, you gotta' go. Laughing

Really like that "wall hanging" inset. Wink

_________________
Ken Ramos
Rutherford Co., Western North Carolina

"Social isolate?"

Cyclops · Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 7:03 am Post subject:

rjlittlefield · Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 1:18 pm Post subject:

Well, here we are 5 days later, and I still have some caterpillars on my wall. Most of the original bunch were still there last night, but this morning there's only a few left. I notice a few new small spiders on that wall too, looking maybe just a bit smug. I don't know whether all this is related. Anyway, the few caterpillars that are left seem to be just fine, despite 5 days with nothing to eat. Hatch-and-hibernate is still looking like a good bet.

Thanks for the comments about the "wall hanging". I didn't really intend it to look quite like that, but when I was done clicking the mouse, it struck me exactly the same way. I kinda' liked it, so I just left it that way instead of trying to rework it.

--Rik

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