Hello, it's a pleasure to be back with you, it's been a while since I visited you, because unfortunately I had not had the opportunity to photograph an insect again. But, a few days ago I found one, and without knowing it, it made me feel very good, not only because I can take a few pictures of it, but also because, apparently, I saved it from imminent death. I found it floating in a container of water in my garden. When I saw it, I thought it was dead and picked it up with the purpose of photographing it and then finding out what kind of butterfly it was.

To my surprise, while I was photographing it, it began to move little by little, not 15 minutes later, when it apparently recovered and began to fly again. It was very nice to see it recover, and it gave me the opportunity to take a few excellent shots, since at first it was very still. Now, when I started to investigate about this little insect, to my surprise, in the first instance, I discovered that it is not a tiny butterfly, it is rather, its gothic cousin, since it is a nocturnal butterfly, better known in the underworld as Moth, hahaha.

Let me explain, it turns out that these insects, like butterflies belong to the 2nd most numerous order of insects, the Lepidoptera, however, moths or moths or moths, belong to a suborder called Heteroneura. And as a curious fact, this subgroup is much more numerous than the suborder that groups the diurnal butterflies, so far they have managed to describe about 200 thousand species. It is even suspected that there are actually five times that number, only, as they have nocturnal habits, they go unnoticed. And according to my humble deduction, it could be a species belonging to the subfamily Pyralidae.

Now, generally speaking, these insects are found scattered around the world, except in Antarctica, subsisting in any type of ecosystem, generally hidden in the vegetation. As far as their physiognomic characteristics are concerned, these are very varied, but generally speaking, their wings and legs arise from a thick and hairy torso. Usually, their antennae resemble small feathers. On the other hand, its wings generally have earth tones, and when at rest they are flat. In addition, they are covered with a kind of scales, which, when touched, give off something similar to dust.

Regarding the feeding of moths in the adult stage, this is very varied, ranging from pollinators to blood suckers. Now, to feed, they have a mouthparts called proboscis and it is a kind of extremely long tongue that can be rolled and unrolled at will. This curious organ, similar to a hose, allows them to sip the nectar of flowers and other liquids. However, I must point out something that caught my attention, it turns out that some species in their adult stage, lack this organ or any other means of feeding. Of course, their existence is extremely short, since they are self-consuming, that is, their energy comes from their own fat, accumulated in the larva stage, and they dedicate it exclusively to reproduction.

Although, some moths are harmless and even thanks to their nutritional value or silk become beneficial and the fame that precedes them is for being considered pests. This is due to the fact that some species in their larva state, can damage clothes, especially if they are made of wool, the wood of our homes, and can even become agricultural pests. However, it should be noted that when they reach their adult stage, most of them are completely harmless and usually turn out to be food for their predators. There are many predators, where we can find plants, insects, arachnids, amphibians, reptiles and even some mammals.

Finally, I wanted to tell you that these interesting insects go through 4 stages of development: egg, larva, pupa and adult. They live from the time they are eggs until they become adults and die, generally between 1 and 3 months. Now, there are some exceptional species, in which, this time is considerably extended, reaching to live even more than 3 years. However, curiously, in general, their life span once they reach adulthood is extremely short. In the case of females, they can live between 3 and 15 days at the most, now, in the case of males, depending on the species, this period can be doubled, and can exist for up to 1 month.

It is time to say goodbye, hoping that my new delivery will be to the liking of this wonderful insect-loving community. Especially, my friend @adalger, and his work team, since it will be my entry for this week's contest Insects Of The World - INSECT CONTEST - September 2021 - #02. Well dear friends, I can only say goodbye, wishing you an excellent week and that all the projects you undertake are fulfilled. Remember to take good care of yourselves and your loved ones by putting biosecurity measures into practice.

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