MOTHS Order Lepidoptera — 2nd most diverse order — 4700+ species in Texas
more stuff . . .
Lepidoptera is Greek for scaly-winged. Scales are articulated hairs that are expanded sideways to form flat plates reinforced by ribs and crossbars. The distance between crossbars on the scales is often the wavelength of red, yellow, green or blue light and is responsible for the vivid glowing colors of some species. Scales are also pigmented with colorful waste chemicals. Mouthparts are modified to form a long coiled tube for sucking nectar, water or fluids from animals. Teeth on the tongue allow some desert moths to feed on mammal blood. Eggs are laid on or in plants. Caterpillars are voracious feeding machines. The pupa or chrysalis is often placed in a cocoon. Silk is commercially spun from cocoons of several species of moth. The Aztecs printed their books on silk paper made from the cocoon of the edible madrone butterfly caterpillars. Fossil moths have been found in 245-million-year-old rocks.
Make a mobile
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 11
12
Jaws
13
Spinnerets Legs
Antenna Eye
Pro-legs Caterpillar
Cell
Palp Cell
Yucca moth
18mm
Adult
8.5mm
Tongue Chrysalis
8mm
1
7mm
Eye Antenna
Enlarge the moth and butterfly illustrations on the following pages, color them, hang them by a thread on a hanger. Hang up the hanger and enjoy your artwork.
Tegeticula yuccasella — in Family Incurvariidae. • This 8mm moth with clean white forewings and gray hindwings is found in yucca flowers. The female gathers pollen, lays its eggs in the yucca pistil, then plugs the hole with pollen, guaranteeing fertilization of the seeds on which her caterpillars will feed. Yuccas do not set seed without these moths.
Ailanthus webworm moth
Atteva punctella — in Family Yponomeutidae. • This striking 8.5mm moth has black-bordered whitespotted orange-red forewings. The caterpillars live communally in ailanthus trees in cities.
Egg
Caterpillar
Pupa
Squash borer moth
Mellitia satyriniformis — in Family Aegeriidae. • This iridescent greenish-black 18mm moth resembles a wasp. Legs and palps have dashes of white and orange. Caterpillars bore in the vines of gourds, squash and pumpkins. Adults are day fliers.
Cocoon
Squash borer moth
Redbud leafroller moth
Adult Gelechia cercerisella — in Family Gelechiidae. Developmental stages of • This is a 7mm glossy black moth with a white head and forewings with five white spots. The the squash borer moth caterpillars roll the edge of a redbud leaf to form a house and venture out at night to feed. 39
©TPWPress 1999