Puneet Varma (Editor)

Brenthia hexaselena

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Kingdom
  
Animalia

Family
  
Choreutidae

Genus
  
Brenthia

Order
  
Butterflies and moths

Class
  
Insecta

Phylum
  
Arthropoda

Rank
  
Species

Brenthia hexaselena

Similar
  
Brenthia, Butterflies and moths, Phiale, Choreutidae, Riodinidae

Brenthia hexaselena is a species of moth of the Choreutidae family. It is found in Costa Rica. It is a rare example of a prey animal mimicking its predator.

Mimicry

Adult moths mimic the jumping spider Phiale formosa, one of their predators. The moths lie low with their wings held up facing forward, their coloration, pattern and movement all resembling those of the spider. In an experiment, Brenthia hexaselena and Brenthia monolychna had higher survival rates than other similarly sized moths in the presence of jumping spiders. The jumping spiders responded to Brenthia with territorial displays, indicating that the species were sometimes mistaken for jumping spiders, and not recognized as prey.

References

Brenthia hexaselena Wikipedia