There are around 11,000 identified species of moths in the United States. Compare that to only about 750 species of butterflies and you can easily see that moths rule the day …or night, as it may be, since the majority of moth species are nocturnal.
You might be familiar with the typical lifecycle of a moth:
· An egg is laid on a host plant by the adult (which soon dies)
· A caterpillar eventually emerges and begins feeding upon the plant the egg was laid on.
· The caterpillar will grow and form a cocoon, entering the pupa stage.
· The adult moth will emerge, mate, lay eggs, and start the entire cycle over again.
But as we’ve said before, when it comes to nature, expect the unexpected.
A prime example …a moth that instead of laying its eggs on a terrestrial plant, dives into fast moving water (as deep as 15 feet) to lay eggs on algae and aquatic plants for its emerging caterpillars to eat.
A bit unusual? It’s common name confirms that … the Confusing Petrophila Moth.
With a wingspan of only a half an inch, thanks to a shell-like layer of air that’s trapped on its body and brought under water, females can stay submerged for up to 12 hours, laying between 200 to 300 eggs.
The emerging moth larvae have gills, enabling them to breathe underwater, and create silk shelters to hold on to rocks in the fast-flowing water.
They eventually form cocoons and emerge as adults that float to the surface, crawl out of the water to dry their wings, and take flight.
An amazing, if not confusing, deviation from the expected.