Why moths don't have a proboscis

Species of moth

Milestones

Appearanceless moth - a domestic pest belonging to the order of Lepidoptera butterflies. It has more than 2,000 species of insects. The presence of the proboscis is the main feature of the vast majority of moths. With the help of this organ, winged insects can get deeply hidden aromatic plant nectaries. Moth has a completely different structure of the oral organ and nutrition. Not everyone can explain why a moth does not have a proboscis. Our article will help to answer this question.

Varieties and Features

In nature, there are a huge number of varieties of butterflies that feed using the proboscis. Surprising is the fact that not all representatives of this detachment eat nectar of flowers. Among them there are insects that feed on excrement and carcasses of animals. Vampire butterflies feed on blood, they are able to attack animals and even humans.

Moth is a domestic pest that consumes hair keratins, as well as residues of organic substances. However, gluttony differ moth larvaethat can spoil a lot of products and things until they pupate and turn into a butterfly. It is the moth caterpillars that have a powerful gnawing mouth apparatus with which they feed on fur products, semi-synthetic fabrics, as well as corn grains and various cereals. According to food preferences, several types of pest are shared: cereal moth, fruit, flour, wardrobe and others.

On a note!

It is sometimes said that the moth is able to feed even on synthetic tissues. However, this statement is not entirely true. Caterpillars eat only natural fabrics. They can damage material that contains both wool and synthetic fibers. Worms grow much slower than counterparts that feed on fur or purely woolen products.

Features of caterpillars: why there is no proboscis

The larvae of ordinary winged moths with their proboscis are able to consume a volume of food per day, many times greater than their weight. Such a feature is not characteristic of moth larvae, since they consume rough food in smaller quantities. This fact can explain their slow growth and size.

The oral apparatus of the larva has two mandibles, on each of which incisors are located. It is thanks to them that the worms can gnaw fibers and fur pile, eating them. Larvae, like adults, behave quite cautiously. They penetrate into the deep folds of clothing, as a result of which they are not always able to be detected. Hiding from prying eyes moth larvae eat various food and gradually develop.

Adults do without a proboscis, as they do not eat at all. This is due to the fact that the mouth apparatus of a moth is simply absent. This pest does not have digestive organs, or rather, they are poorly developed. Moths themselves are almost harmless, they only mate and lay eggs.

Interesting!

The absence of digestive organs in adults explains the absence of the proboscis:

• Primary toothed moths received a gnawing organ from their ancestors;
• Secondary representatives of this type of insect eventually lost their existing mouth as unnecessary.

Life cycle

The development of a domestic pest comes with a complete transformation. The female is able to lay from 50 to 230 eggs. Two weeks later, caterpillars appear from them, which build cocoons from nutrient material. In the pupal state, the pest spends up to 1.5 months, and the winged moth lives for about 4 weeks. The entire life cycle lasts approximately 7 months.

Now the answer to the question of how you can explain the absence of the proboscis of moths is obvious: it simply does not need it.