Date: June 4, 2018
Source: University of Exeter
Poisonous moths use bright red
spots to warn predators to avoid them -- but natural variation in these wing
markings doesn't provide clear indications of how toxic individual moths might
be -- new research shows.
University of Exeter scientists
studied six-spot burnet moths, which produce cyanide-based compounds to make
themselves a bad snack for predators, to see if differences in colours
indicated different toxicity levels.
While smaller and paler red
forewing markings were associated with more cyanide in females, size and
brightness of wing colour were no guide to cyanide levels in males.
"Many animals use
aposematism (warning colouration) to tell predators it would be better to find
lunch elsewhere," said first author Emmanuelle Briolat, of the University
of Exeter.
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