Hemiceratoides hieroglyphica
| Hemiceratoides hieroglyphica | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Hemiceratoides hieroglyphica | ||||||||||||
| ( Saalmüller , 1891) |
Hemiceratoides hieroglyphica is a butterfly ( moth ) fromthe owl butterfly family (Noctuidae). It is the first type, could be observed in the one that they are using their specially modified proboscis sucks tears of birds.
features
The moths reach a wingspan of about 52 millimeters. The males have a large head with widely set, dark olive-brown compound eyes . The palps stretched forward are gray-brown and only slightly protrude from the head. The antennae are half as long as the forewings and are built much stronger on their first half. They are gray-brown above and red-brown below. The first 60% of the length is covered with two protruding rows, tapering on both sides, strongly ciliated comb teeth. At their ends, they are bent forward and closed to one another twice as long as the shaft thickness. The forehead is grayish-white, iridescent scales, the vertex and the thorax , flat above, are rough purple-grayish-brown scales. The shoulder covers are heavily mixed with gray. The abdomen tapers conically towards the rear and ends in a short, pointed anal bush. The abdomen is ocher yellow on top, the second segment is gray in the middle of the back. The underside, like the thorax and legs, is light gray-brown. The splints ( tibiae ) of the forelegs are hollowed out and shimmering gold, those of the rear pairs of legs have two pairs of very long, thin, closely spaced spurs. The tarsi of all legs are heavily thorny.
The fore wings are elongated and narrow. Its front edge is almost straight, only in the first third it is slightly curved outwards. The wing tip is rounded short. The hem is diagonally and strongly curved in the middle and too straight towards the barely noticeable rear angle. The inner edge has a flap-like protruding tooth that connects in a straight line with the posterior corner, sets it down at right angles and then also runs straight to the base. The forewings are gray-brown, bluish-white and in between at the front edge and towards the tip the darkest, bronze-like, yellowish gloss. The blue and white drawing consists of fine, matt lines that are narrow and darker on both sides than the basic color; sharper inward. The drawing is only faintly indicated between the wing leading edge and the subcostal artery. Near the base there is an oblique arch from the front edge to the first alar vein , then three strips follow one another, which form an outward arching fairly parallel from the front edge to the subcostal artery and two curved arcs between the first alar vein and the inner edge. The outermost one limits the first third of the wing and ends in the tooth of the inner edge. At the end of the cell there is a whitish, dusty dark spot. At the same distance in front of and behind the stain there is a narrow strip bent towards the stain, the first of which, lying exactly on the middle of the wing, continues as a brownish, darker-edged band to the middle of the inner edge of the wing. This band consists of two curved arcs and forms an outward point on the first wing vein. The rear reaches the inner edge as a matt brown line, curved irregularly outwards. Between the two stripes in cell 2 there is a small triangular, brown, and in cell 1b another, larger, rounded, brownish-yellow spot with dark stripes in the middle. From the second third of the wing leading edge an irregular serrated band pulls over the wing, which is most evident on the fourth wing vein. Closely behind it, a line runs from the leading edge of the wing to the fifth wing vein, parallel to the hem in a straight direction, then curved several times to the inner edge. A series of lunar arcs runs from the wing tip to the posterior corner, fading towards the posterior corner. They lie between the wing veins and are placed on the hem. The fourth lunar arc from the wing tip is connected to the beginning of the last fifth of the wing leading edge by a slash. The discoid cell and the space behind it between the third and seventh wing veins are dusted bluish-white. The hind wings are ocher yellow. They are slightly curved at the front edge and the front angle is strongly rounded. The curve extends into the straight, very weakly wavy hem to the fifth wing vein. The anal angle is right angled. The wing edge is colored the same on both wing sides, like the base color of the wing, on the upper side it is bordered in a fine brown by a seam line.
The underside of the hind wings and the inner half of the underside of the forewings is colored dull ocher yellow. The underside of the forewings is otherwise between the anterior margin and the subcostal artery, behind the discoidal cell up to the second wing artery and up to the edge light gray-brown. Across the second to sixth wing cells there is a dark gray-brown spot on the cross vein and another, larger, lighter-colored vein behind it.
Features of the proboscis
The moth's proboscis is adapted to the eyes of birds for sucking tears. It is about 10 millimeters long and has various cuticular thorns and bristles on its last ( distal ) third . Its tip is sharply pointed and has dark sclerotized , broad basal hooks, so that it resembles a harpoon. These structures are not only formed in two types of sensilla of the proboscis, they are also found in the structures that connect the two halves of the proboscis (e.g. Galea ). The tip of the proboscis is split like a snake's tongue. The modified Sensilla styloconica are arranged in a row along the dorsal side of each galea. They are 100 to 300 µm long and consist of a flat stylus and a blade-shaped extension on the side of the short sensory area. The Sensilla trichodea are formed as thick bristles that are slightly curved and about 300 µm long. They each point to the side of the suction tube and are only located in the area near the harpoon-like tip of the suction tube. The structures for connecting the two halves of the proboscis consist of multi-pointed thorns that are directed towards the body ( proximally ). They are relatively short near the tip of the proboscis and gradually change towards the rear to form a row of approximately 200 µm long spines on the distal third of the proboscis. This shape of the proboscis is believed to be used to anchor it below the host animal's eyelid during tears.
The proboscis is shaped similarly to that of the blood-sucking owl butterfly species Calyptra triobliqua, which is also native to Madagascar . There the hooks and thorns are used to pierce the skin of the host animals. These structures can be reconciled with the homologies of the basic blueprint of the proboscis of higher butterflies and represent characteristics derived from the two species that presumably developed synapomorphically . The characteristics also differ from the blueprint of the previously known tear fluid-sucking butterflies, which have a soft and flexible proboscis tip with few sensillae and elongated, toothed plates curved away from the body for the dorsal connection of the two proboscis halves.
Occurrence
The species is common in Madagascar.
Way of life
Despite almost 50 years of searching for butterflies, which, in addition to the several previously known butterfly species that suckle on the eyes of mammals and crocodiles, also do the same on birds, it was only in February 2004 that Hemiceratoides hieroglyphica observed such behavior on Newtonia brunneicauda , a bird of the family of Vanga stranglers (Vangidae) in Madagascar. The moth was discovered sitting on the sleeping bird at night and had stuck half of its proboscis under the song in the bird's closed eye. The bird was disturbed by the flash of the camera so that it was still sleeping and moving its head, causing the proboscis to lose contact with the eye. The moth remained seated on the bird's back and after a short time put the proboscis under the eyelid again. The moth stayed in this position for a total of at least 35 minutes and evidently sucked the tear fluid from the bird. This behavior was observed again six days later in Copsychus albospecularis , a flycatcher (Muscicapidae), and in December 2005 again in Newtonia brunneicauda . What is also remarkable about this process is that the host animals apparently do not feel disturbed by the suckling, which is only known from Lobocraspis griseifusa from Southeast Asia compared to the other previously known tear-drinking species . This is justified by the fact that the moths have to be particularly precise when inserting the proboscis because of the birds' nictitating membrane .
For most butterfly species that suck on tear fluid, which contains mineral salts as well as proteins such as albumin and globulins , this probably constitutes the main part of their diet. However, this fact has not yet been adequately researched. For example, it is also conceivable that the moths prefer an unusual way of taking up minerals, as the danger from predators (e.g. frogs) is much higher in puddles on the ground. Tear-drinking moths are not specialized in single host species. Hemiceratoides hieroglyphica has so far been detected in two bird species from different families, which is why it can be assumed that this species is not restricted in its host choice to one or a few species. However, it can be assumed that the size of the birds influences the selection. Depending on the length of the proboscis, the moths are probably looking for birds where they can reach the eye while sitting on the back, which would not be possible with larger birds. It is also assumed that the moths have specialized in birds because the larger mammals found in other parts of the world, which are more tolerant towards insects, are absent in Madagascar, and also the species native to Madagascar such as the lemurs a high proportion of nocturnal species that the moths perceive more quickly and are better able to repel.
supporting documents
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Roland Hilgartner, Mamisolo Raoilison, Willhelm Büttiker, David C. Lees, Harald W. Krenn: Malagasy birds as hosts for eye-frequenting moths. biology letters, 3, 2007, pp. 117-120.
- ↑ a b c Max Saalmüller: Lepideptors of Madagascar. Treatises of the Senckenberg'schen Naturforschende Gesellschaft. Frankfurt a. M, 1891. online