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#1 |
Heron
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Indiana
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Yesterday I was watching a documentary about Indiana's Natural Heritage. They had a bit about luna moths. Luna caterpillars eject their digestive systems before cocooning. Luna moths have no mouth parts and do not feed. They mate, then lay eggs and die.
This may seem like a strange question but... If luna moths don't help pollinate then what beneficial roll do they playin nature, either as moths or caterpillars?
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We do not inherit the land from our fathers, we borrow it from our children. |
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#2 |
Salamander
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Raymond, NH - USA
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I'm pretty sure they are in the food chain. Maybe near the top of the menu for predators? Owls eat moths (in addition to many other things)
Quiet
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"If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters." -- Alan K. Simpson |
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#3 |
1st Place Winner Winner Butterfly/Moth Contest & Official Ant Man
Join Date: May 2009
Location: New Jersey
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Ants in the genus Trachymyrmex form small colonies and harvest fungus. One species is unusually wide spread over North America, where as all other fungus growing species are restricted to states just above Mexico. Part of their success is the inclusion of Caterpillar Frass to use as compost for the fungus gardens. Any caterpillar can fill this roll but that of a giant silk moth must be a gold mine. Though uncommon, they range from southern NJ, OH, IL, and on down to northern CA.
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#4 |
Slapping, Swearing, Itching, Scratching Mosquito Bait
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: pennsylvania,usa
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Lots of insect species breed as adults and that's about it. Some live for many years but only a short time as adults.
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#5 |
1st Place Winner Winner Butterfly/Moth Contest & Official Ant Man
Join Date: May 2009
Location: New Jersey
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Cicada's have a similar life style. They take something like 15 to 17 years to develop underground. The larval stage feeds on tree roots and the adult form is there only to mate and reproduce. I don't think they eat at all.
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#6 |
Lungwort
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: central Massachusetts
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I've wondered the same thing myself. I think of them as the creators of caterpillars who are a valuable foodstuff for birds.
MrAnts, thanks for the info about ants using cat frass to harvest fungus. That's a new one to me. I am continually learning about all the things that those resourceful ants do! |
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#7 | |
Heron
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Indiana
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We do not inherit the land from our fathers, we borrow it from our children. |
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#8 |
1st Place Winner Winner Butterfly/Moth Contest & Official Ant Man
Join Date: May 2009
Location: New Jersey
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They eat leaves pretty well and most of those taste awful.
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#9 | |
The Bug Whisperer
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Monroe County, WV, USA
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“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul and paints his own nature into his pictures.” Henry Ward Beecher |
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#10 |
Pope
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Virginia
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Suunto, I love your comments. They are so drool--I mean droll! I keep meaning to tell you that I also love your signature line, by the way. I have found that sentiment to be often true.
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Tags |
job, luna, moth |
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