mystery moth

OscartheGrouch Tondaleo at hotmail.com
Mon Jul 10 04:40:01 EDT 2006


<antipop42 at gmail.com> wrote in message 
news:1152489734.630011.250810 at m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
> Hi all,
>
> I found this strange bug sitting on the side of my house today that
> I've never seen before.  It took about an hour of research online, but
> I finally discovered that it's a Plume moth.  Here's the pic I took of
> it:
>
> http://members.cox.net/antipop42/weirdbug.jpg
>
> It's been sitting in the same place literally all day without moving.
> I'm not an entomologist... Is this normal behavior?
>
> TheAntipop
>

It is very normal behavior for night flying moths to sit motionless during 
the day. If they are on a substrate that they blend in well with they will 
be less likely to be noticed by predators. If not, well. I don't think 
they're smart enough to seek out colors that match theirs or that camoflage 
them well. Example: a brown moth on a tree with brown bark versus a brown 
moth on a white house wall. Here's a question for ya to ponder....Why are 
butterflies typically brightly (more or less) colored while many moths are 
typically drab? (This was a question back on a Systematic Entomolgy final.) 
I could have answered it better than I did, but I've had about 25 years to 
think about it. Your answers?? 



 
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