Friday 23rd June 2017
Posted in Life the Universe and Other Things on June 23, 2017 by bishshat
Painting in shed and garden tiger moth or great tiger moth (Arctia caja) is a moth of the family Erebidae.
It has a wingspan of 45 to 65 millimetres (1.8 to 2.6 in). The design of the wings varies: the front wings are brown with a white pattern (which can however be missing), the back wings are orange with a pattern of black dots. The conspicuous patterns serve as a warning to predators, because the moth’s body fluids are poisonous. Its effects are not yet fully known, but they contain quantities of neurotoxic choline esters which act by interfering with the acetylcholine receptor. The colours are also ideal for frightening predators such as small birds: the moth normally hides its hindwings under the cryptic forewings when resting. If a threat is perceived, the moth quickly shows its red colour and flies away. In this way, it successfully confuses and warns off the predator. There are many aberrations (pattern and colour variants), partly obtained artificially and partly by chance.
