Tiger Moths and Woolly Bears

Book excerpt: Moths of the family Arctiidae, with their brilliant coloration, spectacular courtship rituals, and bizarre defenses, are wonders of the natural world. Unpalatable by virtue of secondary chemicals acquired from their hostplants, these moths advertise their defenses by their coloration and often mimic butterflies, wasps, bees, stinkbugs, and even cockroaches. They have ears with which they hear the echolocation of bats, and some answer with aposematic warnings, while some may jam the bats' sonar.This book, the first written on this fascinating group, documents how tiger moths and woolly bears-the adults and larvae of the Arctiidae-flourish in a world rife with predators, parasites, and competitors. The contributing authors' accounts, each written by a recognized expert in the field, weave together seminal studies on phylogeny and behavior, natural history, chemical communication, mate choice and sexual selection, chemical ecology, parasite-host relationships, self medication, animal orientation, predator-prey interactions, mimicry, adaptive coloration, speciation, biodiversity, and more.