Moths of the Amazon
and Andes
Beckoning Swift
Cibyra
( species unidentified, ref 317 )
Family - HEPIALIDAE
subfamily -
Tribe -
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Cibyra
( species unidentified ), male "beckoning" to females. Mato
Grosso, Brazil |
Introduction
The family Hepialidae contains 60 genera and 587 known
species, distributed throughout temperate and tropical regions worldwide.
The
moths are considered to be very primitive, and are characterised by having very
short pectinate antennae and long thin abdomens. They are homoneurous, i.e. the
venation of forewings and hindwings is almost identical. Another characteristic
of the family is that none of the species possess a functional proboscis or
frenulum.
Most
Hepialidae species have a broadly similar pattern and are generally brownish in
colour, although many are strikingly marked, and one huge Australian species Aenetus eximius
has bright green forewings and pink hindwings.
In most moth species the females lure males with pheromones, but in
a few genera such as Phassus
the sexual role play is reversed. The male can exude mate-attracting pheromones
from androconial scales on its legs, and suspends himself from
a twig or branch, dangling by the forelegs, allowing the scent to waft on the
breeze to beckon females.
Habitats
Lowland rainforest.
Lifecycle
No specific information relating to
Phassus
is available, but the following generalisations apply to the family Hepialidae :
The eggs are scattered by the females while in flight, often
in huge numbers. The body of a single dissected female of the Australian species
Trictena atripalpis
for example was found to contain an estimated 40,000 eggs.
The young caterpillars
feed on the roots of monocotyledons
- grasses, bamboos, palms etc; and when older bore their way into the stems or
trunks.
Adult behaviour
Attracted to tungsten light. I found 2 adults of this species,
both of which suspended themselves in the manner illustrated,
dangling by their forelegs. It would seem likely that the moths
naturally rest in this posture, appearing like dead leaves
dangling from a twig in the forest.
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