Moths of Costa Rica (original) (raw)

Last update: April 4, 1998

This mosaic should give you a small idea of the variety of moths that can be found in the tropics. Click on any of the small images to get a larger view.

While we were at the Wilson Garden, a group of scientists was searching for longhorned beetles at night using a large UV light source in front of white sheets or white walls. For every beetle that was attracted, they probably got 100 moths. I shot 4 or 5 rolls of moth shots, and the 25 here will give you some idea of the variety we saw.

If you number the moths in the pattern above as follows:

1  2  3  4  5
6  7  8  9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

here are some things to notice.

Leaf mimics: 1, 7, 12, 13, 15, 18, 24. Note that some of them even mimic leaf "damage".

Wasp and fly mimics: 5, 14, 17.

Brush displays: 21, 25. (The brush comes out of the rear end and is used for sending out pheromones to attract a male.)

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