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sixteenseveredhands · 1 year

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The Buff-Tip Moth: the resting posture, shape, and color/pattern of the buff-tip moth allows it to mimic a broken birch twig; the moth's buff-colored head and the patches on its hindwings even resemble freshly-snapped wood

It also definitely tends to look like there's a weird little smiley face in the setae surrounding the moth's head, which is arguably even more striking but for some reason none of the sources I dug up on this species seem to mention that weirdness.

This type of camouflage is generally referred to as a "protective resemblance" -- a form of mimesis in which an animal can avoid being preyed upon by mimicking an inedible/unremarkable aspect of its environment. Many different moths are able to disguise themselves in similar ways, and it is especially common within the family known as Lasiocampidae. Some of the other species that engage in protective resemblance include Gastropacha quercifolia, Gastropacha pardale, Gastropacha populifoli, Euthrix potatori, Euthrix laeta, and Calyptra minuticornis (along with the other members of genus Calyptra). Most of these moths disguise themselves as leaves/foliage.

The buff-tip moth is particularly adept at disguising itself, however, and the fact that it so strongly resembles such a specific object (i.e. not just a dead leaf or a vague piece of foliage -- but a broken twig from a silver birch tree, in particular) makes this disguise seem even more impressive/unique.

This species (Phalera bucephala) can be found throughout the British Isles, mainland Europe, and Asia, with its range extending into Eastern Siberia.

Sources & More Info:

Wildlife Insights: Buff-Tip Moth Identification Guide

ButterflyConservation.org: Buff-Tip Moth

The Wildlife Trusts: Buff-Tip Moth

Wildlife Insight: the Buff-Tip Moth

Moth Identification: P. busephala

Encyclopedia of Life: Global Map of Known Occurrences for P. busephala

Insecta: Phalera bucephala

Lepidoptera and their Ecology: P. busephaloides and P. busephala

Journal of Ecology & Evolution: Strong Foraging Preferences for Ribes alpinum in the Polyphagous Caterpillars of Buff-Tip Moth Phalera bucephala

Dickinson County Conservation Board: Protective Resemblance & other Forms of Mimesis/Mimicry

#lepidoptera #entomology #insects #bugs #buff tip moth #weird bugs #critters #animals #moths #are #wildly #underrated

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weirdbugtournament · 11 months

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hello. we are hosting a weird bug tournament. voting begins next friday 6/9. in the meantime feel free to boost this tournament, submit propaganda, and discuss your choices with your friends.

#insects #bugs #weird bugs #polls #tournaments #tournament #weird bug poll #weird bug tournament

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phullofphights · 4 months

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oops! I forgot to post the references of the ocs from that one comic!! here they are finally!!

read abt em on this and this page if you're interested in their loreee

#phighting #phighting!#art #ocs #references #phighting ocs #weird bugs #chimeras #bugs #dino oc

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cicadash3ll · 2 months

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This picture of an ant on its wikipedia page looks so hardcore

#weird bugs #bugs #:3

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willyeeton · 7 months

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Happy freaking birthday dude!! You are so cool and smart and awesome and and all the other positive adjectives!

Hope you have an amazing day today! Have some weird bugs, arachnids? Weird arachnids, spiders :P

Thank you cherry! You're cool too. Your bugs are delightful, always a pleasure to see neat photos like that. I'm not working at the preserve anymore so I've pretty much run out, sadly.

Thank you again!

P.s. arachnids are bugs. Bugs are a state of being not a scientific class. Except the scientific class. I say snails are bugs too.

#postcards #spiders #yeah i guess it's my birthday everybody else #i don't know how to just tell people that it feels weird #but whatever. playfully kicking my feet. whimsy and sunshine. you know.#weird bugs

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chillgamesh-the-swing · 1 year

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actual fucking shrimp decided to climb into my coffee mug

#weird bugs #id in alt text

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yanosolong · 1 year

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#the inscrutable exhortations of my soul #calvin and hobbes #weird bugs #frogs

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incompetentmedic · 1 year

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Hey check out this weird bug I found

#weird bugs

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on-stardust-wings · 1 year

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So I've actually gone to contact support about the "where the fuck are my messages" issue. Hope that'll do something. I want to be able to message people again...

#weird bugs #the Tumblr experience!#one of my blogs can't send or receive messages anymore #it's so weird #what is wrong here

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blazeball · 6 months

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i just rediscovered the pelican spider. give me 1-2 business days to stop laughing at how they're shaped and ill be normal again

#i have a skewed perspective on what makes a creature weird looking on account of being a bug fan #but this thing is so funny to look at its just so ridiculous #and it lives its whole life like this. that's awesome #quincy.txt #inverts

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murderballadeer · 5 months

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people are so weird about babies like calling them crotch goblins, reducing being a parent "letting someone cum in you" etc etc etc like those are tiny little humans you don't have to want to have any of your own but they are literally just small people & it's weird to constantly describe them in crude sexual terms and/or as subhuman

#it bugs me. like i'll probably never be a mom but i genuinely rly like kids including babies #& obv not everyone does & that's fine but like it weirds me out how crude people choose to be abt them #soapbox #suggestive

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bencossack · 7 months

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looks like this guy’s been found by a fingersucker.

fingersuckers (genus Suctor) are a type of insect that like to suck on people’s fingers. why they do this is unknown.

#funny bugs #pink bugs #weird bugs #art about silly insects

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hobohobgoblim · 7 months

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impractical? yes

slightly disturbing? also yes

would i commit all manner of felonies to obtain them?

again yes

#goblincore #goblim #goblin #goblin aesthetic #crowcore #mosscore #bugs #antiques #weird cutlery #shinies #bug stuff #vintage

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sixteenseveredhands · 10 months

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The Camouflaged Looper: these caterpillars fashion their own camouflage by collecting flower petals/vegetation and using silk to "glue" the pieces onto their bodies

Often referred to as "camouflaged loopers," the caterpillars are the larvae of the wavy-lined emerald moth (Synchlora aerata).

Camouflaged loopers deploy a unique form of self-defense -- they snip off tiny pieces of the flowers upon which they feed, then use bits of silk to attach the vegetation to their backs. This provides them with a kind of camouflage, enabling them to blend in with the plants that they eat.

Some of them create little tufts that run along their backs, while others fashion a thicker camouflage that covers their backs completely. In some cases, the camouflaged loopers will even build much larger bundles that surround their entire bodies.

Their range includes most of North America (from southern Canada down through Texas) and they can feed upon an enormous variety of plants, so the disguises that these caterpillars build can come in countless colors, shapes, and sizes, incorporating many different flowers and other plants.