What do moths eat

The type of moth determines where the moth eggs are laid and what the larvae consume. Plant-eating moths will lay the eggs near the kind of tree or plant that makes up most of their diet. Once the larvae hatch, they consume the remains of the egg shell then move onto the leaves of the host plant. In this case, the larvae will eat non stop for a week or so, growing rapidly. Remember the very hungry caterpillar? Larval moths are quite ravenous! Pantry, clothes and carpet moths have a somewhat refined diet - these are some picky unwanted guests!

Now, there are some species of moths where the adult flying moths can drink nectar, sap, blood, and other fluids from plants and animals alike. However, this is a rare occurrence. The most common moths to terrorize your home are pantry moths and webbing and casemaking moths.

As you may have guessed, pantry moths target dry ingredients stored in the kitchen. They will lay eggs around things like grains, dried pasta and rice, bread, seeds, and cake mixes. On the other hand, webbing moths and casemaking moths prefer the fibers found in textiles.

You will find these moths among clothing, curtains, upholstery, and linens. Wool, cashmere, silk, and even lint will attract these clothes moths. Their dusty wings flutter while deciding if they want to be near or away from the lightbulb. While watching their indecisive behavior, have you ever wondered to yourself, what do moths eat? While there are some exceptions, moths have a general diet that consists of liquids from flower nectar, sap, and rotting fruit.

Some adult moths do not even have much of an appetite and spend time getting their fluids from mud and wet sand. The fact is, they do most of their destruction while in the larvae stage. Clothes moth larvae eat just about any form of natural and animal fibers. Moth caterpillars enjoy munching on the flowers and leaves of plants. There are so many questions when it comes to moths. How long do moths live? Unfortunately for the moth, they have a relatively short life cycle. Rarely seen during the day, these nocturnal pollinators spend their time fluttering about in the evenings and are usually spotted resting on the side of your home near a light source.

While they have plenty of natural predators, this is not going to stop them from entering your home. There are a few natural solutions that are quite effective at eliminating a moth and larvae infestation. We commonly look upon moths as the underdog to the grand and colorful butterfly. While they both flutter gracefully on the wing, they have many characteristics that separate them.

So, what is a moth, and how does it differ from a butterfly? The polyphyletic group of insects, known as the moth, includes all members of the order Lepidoptera, and there are roughly , species of moths. The fungus moth is from the family Tineidae, which feeds on fungus rather than plants, and the webbing clothes moth are two common North American moths.

Moths are slightly different than butterflies for a few reasons. Moths rest with their wings open while the butterfly sleeps with theirs closed. A butterfly feeds during the day and moths are nocturnal, for the most part. You may be wondering, what do moths do anyhow? However, in their pupa stage, these azures have also been documented to consume the eriophyid mites microscopic parasitic arthropods that cause the formation of the galls.

In their larvae stage, as their name suggests, the main part of the diet of scale-feeding snout moths are the eggs and young of insects known as scale insects due to their scaly physical appearance. Like the scale-feeding snout moth, Laetilia dilatifasciella, in its larval stage, is commonly known to feed on a wide variety of scale insects; however, this species tends to eat adult insects rather than the eggs and young.

Another difference between the two is that Laetilia dilatifasciella is usually less focused on consuming plants. Like the previous two moth species listed, Laetilia zamacrella, a larva, is widely known to feed on scale insects usually adults.

However, this species differs from the other two. It primarily focuses on one specific species of scale insect: Toumeyella pinicola. Baphala pallida also feeds on scale insects in its larval stage.

However, this species is different in that it primarily consumes scale insects of the families Kermesidae and Coccidae. Euclemensia barksdalensis is a type of cosmet moth. These tiny moths act as a parasite towards its host in its larval stage. In the case of this particular species, it is usually a parasite of a scale insect. Similar cosmet moths such Euclemensia bassettella and Euclemensia schwarziella have similar dietary pattern. When they are larvae, Cryptothelea gloverii have been documented to follow a mixed diet of plants and insects.

Some examples of the host plants include avocados, the Jerusalem thorn, persimmon trees, and much more. They also eat the mites and scale insects of these host plants. For the most part, in the larval stage, Lithophane antennata follows a herbivorous diet, mostly eating the leaves of certain trees and shrubs e.

However, in some cases, these larvae have been seen to consume the larvae of sawflies, winter moth caterpillars, as well as their own larvae siblings. When they are larvae, webbing clothes moths are known to mainly consume animal products, such as wool and feathers. They have also been documented to eat the carcasses of insects and hair, flour, and more. In their caterpillar stage, the sooty-winged chalcoela, a North American species, is widely known to consume the larvae of paper wasps.

It is typical for the caterpillars of this species to go into the pupa stage within the nests of these wasps. Like their sooty-winged counterpart, in the caterpillar stage, the pegasus chalcoela, also a North American species, is widely known to consume the larvae of paper wasps. It is also common for pegasus chalcoela caterpillars to pupate within the nests of these wasps. Calyptra bicolor is an Asian moth species most commonly found in China and Japan; like many other species in the Calyptra genus, it is known as a vampire moth.

This is because it can use its barbed proboscis a long feeding tube attached to its head to suck the blood of humans, as well as large animals. Calyptra bicolor is an Asian moth species most commonly found in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. This species is also a vampire moth feed on blood from humans and other large mammals. Calyptra fasciata is another vampire moth from India has the same dietary pattern.

Calyptra minuticornis is a moth species that can be found all over Asia and Australia. As a vampire moth, the species latch onto buffalo and other relatively large mammals to suck out their blood in natural habitats. Calyptra fasciata is a moth species that can be found in the East Indies. It is commonly known as a vampire moth, meaning it can use its barbed proboscis to suck the blood of humans and animals.

Calyptra parva is a moth species that can be found in India. These vampire moths use their barbed proboscis to suck the blood of humans and animals.

Calyptra pseudobicolor under the same genus is another moth species have the same dietary pattern as Calyptra parva. Calyptra thalictriis, a moth species that can be found all over Asia and certain parts of Europe.

The species latch onto relatively large mammals to feed on their blood in natural habitats as a vampire moth. But this species is generally thought to not attack humans very often.

The corn earworm is widely known for being a huge agricultural pest. This is because during their larval stage, they often take field crops, such as corn, tomato, cotton, and much more, as their hosts and feed on them. However, in addition to this predominantly plant-based diet, the larvae have been documented to consume other larvae including their own siblings.

Like the corn earworm, the tobacco budworm is also commonly known as a particularly disruptive agricultural pest, often taking tobacco and cotton plants as their host and eating them though other crops are also sometimes chosen. Additionally, the tobacco budworm also sometimes engages in cannibalism during the larvae stage; however, they are not as aggressive as the corn earworm larvae are.

The fall armyworm moth is also a crop-disrupter, taking on a wide variety of plants as hosts and consuming them e. Bertha armyworms, a moth species primarily found alongside the western North America, is known as one of the biggest pests of canola in Canada.

Most adults sip flower nectar, but other imbibe fluids from sap flowers on trees, rotting fruits, bird droppings, or animal dung. Many adult butterflies are found drinking fluids at wet sand or mud, especially along stream courses or the edges of dirt roads or trails. The caterpillar of almost all butterflies and moths eat various parts of plants.

Each species may specialize of only a few kinds of plants or plant parts.