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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Moths Elude Spiders by Mimicking Them, Study Says


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Brenthia hexaselena, a species of metalmark moth, flares its hind wings (HW) and spreads its forewings (FW) to mimic a jumping spider.

In lab trials, spiders caught 6 percent of the metalmark moths presented to them, as opposed to 62 percent of other moth species. What's more, the spiders sometimes made territorial gestures at the metalmarks—and occasionally backed away.

Photograph © Rota, Wagner; courtesy PLoS ONE