Crambid Snout Moths. More little known pollinators

Unindentified crambid moth on goldenrod, drinking nectar with its long tongue

The Crambid Snout Moths or Crambidae are a large family of moths that used to be grouped with the pyralid moths. The name refers to the proboscis, the mouth appendage. Most of them are little and rather insignificant in appearance and go unnoticed by most of us; a handful are active during the day and tend to be a little more colorful. A few crambids are flower visitors. None, with one exception, is known for sure to be pollinators, but we know that they take nectar and may perform pollination.

So, here is the exception, and it is an interesting one: a moth that depends on the senita cactus. In turn the cactus depends on the moth for pollination, a nice example of mutualism. It is the Upiga virescens (common name senita moth); a non-descript little creature that carries pollen from flower to flower of the Lophocereus cactus and its larvae feeds on the seeds of this plant. Sorry, no photos.
Among the more colorful crambids that visit flowers are the Desmia Grape Leaffolder, the Raspberry Pyrausta, and the Orange Mint Moth.

Desmia Grape Leaffolder (Desmia sp.) trapped by a carnivorous sundew

Raspberry Pyrausta (Pyrausta signatalis)

Orange Mint Moth (Pyrausta orphisalis)

The Spotted Webworm Moth and the Hawaiian Beet Webworm are perhaps a little less conspicuous. The latter is not a native moth, introduced from Hawaii as the name indicates.

Spotted Webworm Moth (Hymenia perspectalis)

Hawaiian Beet Webworm (Spoladea recurvalis)

The Celery Leaftier is very plain as are a large number of members of this family.

Celery leaftier (Udea rubigalis)

All of these are seen visiting flowers during the day. It is possible that they also visit night flowers and there may be many more nocturnal flower visitors that we don't know of. In many cases, their caterpillars are better known than the adults for the damage they cause. Names such as leaftier, webworm, leaffolder show this.

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© Beatriz Moisset. 2012

Pine Barrens, Plants and their Pollinators

Pine tree shedding pollen

The Pine Barrens of New Jersey is well worth a visit. The Pinelands Preservation Alliance is dedicated to preserve this unique treasure. Let us take a look at some of the pollinators of its plant community.

The predominant tree and the one that gives the name to the place is the pine tree, especially the pitch pine (Pinus rigida). It uses the wind for pollen transport. This ancient method of pollination existed long before there were any flowering plants or any pollen carriers. The features that make wind pollination possible are: the production of vast amounts of pollen and the relative proximity of plants to each other.

Some members of the flowering plants group have reverted to the time honored tradition of wind pollination; they do just fine without the help of pollinators. Such are oaks, birches, most maples, grasses and sedges, among others. Notice that such plants grow fairly close to each other and produce abundant pollen.

Plants that employ the services of pollinators invest some of their energy in producing flowers that attract and recompense the visitors. This investment is compensated by the reduced need to produce large amounts of pollen. Flowers have an array of different techniques to accomplish this. Here are some found in the Pine Barrens.

Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana). Magnolias are among the oldest flowering plants. Their ancestors resorted to the only available pollinators at that time, rather clumsy ones, such as beetles. Beetles mouth parts are good for biting and chewing, not for delicately gathering pollen and nectar. They chew on the flowers along with feeding on some pollen and can make a big mess. Magnolias continue to be pollinated mostly by beetles and they tend to have rather tough, leathery petals to protect themselves against such insults.

Wild cherry (Prunus serotina). The shape of its flowers is relatively simple and open, its pollen and nectar are easy to reach, thus a large number of species of bees and even other insects visit these flowers. Some of these flies mimic bees very skillfully and manage to fool not only hungry birds but even some human observers.

Mountain laurel in bloom

Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia). This attractive flower has a very peculiar shape. The anthers (the part of the flower that carries the pollen) remain caught inside little pockets made by the petals; their stalks or filaments remain taut and ready to snap. When an insect lands on the flower they spring to action. Each anther comes out of the pocket and gives the insect a good dusting of pollen.

Blueberries, cranberries (Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium macrocarpon and others). The anthers of these flowers are shaped very differently from those of most other flowers. They don’t split open exposing the pollen; instead they have an opening at the end of the anther. The way to get the pollen out requires some skillful work by the pollinator. It has to hang on to the flower and give it a good shake; the way you shake a salt shaker. Some bumblebees and many other native bees are very adept at this task. The blueberry bee (Habropoda laboriosa), can pollinate so many flowers in her short adult life of a few weeks that her labor can result on $20 worth of blueberries, probably more at today’s prices.

Honey bees, on the other hand, never learned how to perform this task. They do visit blueberries and cranberries and accomplish pollination although not as efficiently as the native bees and bumblebees. However, large blueberry and cranberry operations resort to honey bees because of the convenience of placing hives on the fields and because such large tracts of land fail to provide nesting places for native bees. Pollinating these berries is stressful for honey bees; they are not well adapted to such diet and suffer as a consequence. Wild grown berries, on the other hand, get all their needed pollination from native bees.

Lady slipper (Cypripedium acaule). The lovely orchid known as lady slipper can play unpleasant tricks on pollinators; its elaborate shape is nothing but a seductive trap with a complicated escape route. The flower yields an aroma that some bees find irresistible. When they reach the flower, they perch at the edge of the sac and frequently slip and fall. Soon they find that they can’t get out the way they came in because the inside walls are very slippery and the lip of the sac curves inwards making it even harder. Fortunately the orchid has provided a ladder at the back of the flower and a very narrow passage that leads back to freedom. The bee that struggles through this tunnel gets a sac of pollen, called pollinia, stuck to its back. It will remember the unfortunate experience long enough to move away from that patch of orchids; but shortly afterward, it will be quite willing to repeat the experience because its little brain will have forgotten all about it.

Magnolias and Beetle Pollination
Lady slipper

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© Beatriz Moisset. 2012

Inchworms: more little known pollinators

Inchworm (Eupithecia) on coneflower

Another group of not well known pollinator moths are the members of the Geometrid family, better known as inchworms. The name refers to the peculiar way their caterpillars move around inch by inch like measuring the distance they traverse. The scientific name also refers to the caterpillars. Some of these caterpillars can be found on flowers, but of course, they are not likely to do any pollination, since they don't move very far when feeding on the nutritious flowers.

Inchworm (Alsophila pometaria) showing its characteristic gait

This is a family that, unlike the previous ones has a good number of pollinators, both diurnal and nocturnal. The ones that fly at night are usually collected by attracting them to lights and, unfortunately, there is very little research about their flower visiting activities. A little more is known about the role as pollinators of the ones that visit flowers during the day; but not much.

Chickweed Geometer (Haematopis grataria)

Day fliers can be colorful, in contrast to night fliers. The chickweed geometer and the white-striped black moth fall somewhere in the middle between colorful and drab. But the white tipped black moth could compete with many butterflies with its orange body and dark blue wings with white tips.

The only thing that we can say for certain about geometrid moths is that many of them visit flowers regularly and probably accomplish some pollination.

Family Geometridae

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© Beatriz Moisset. 2012

Little known moth pollinators: seed casebearers and flower moths

Seed case bearer moth Coleophora trifolii

It continues to amaze me how little we know about pollinator moths, aside from a handful of the more familiar ones. I will be covering a couple of families, somewhat related (they are members of the superfamily Gelechioidea) which is part of a larger and loosely defined group called microlepidoptera. The main thing microlepidoptera have in common is their small size, but many may not be related.

The two families I mention here may or may not be pollinators; all we can say for certain is that they visit flowers. It would be nice to know more.

Among the casebearer moths there is a handful of species known as seed casebearers. As the name suggests, the caterpillars carry a case which serves as refuge. The seed casebearers feed on seeds, rather than other parts of the plants. The adults are silvery, with long antennae. When the wings are folded they are long and narrow, like little cigars. They can be seen at flowers of the daisy family. Not much else is known about their activities.

© 2005 Lynette Schimming. Flower moth

The other flower visitors in this group of moths belong to a family with a difficult scientific name, Xyloryctidae. Fortunately the common name is nicer and self explanatory: flower moths. They look very similar to the members of the previous group. They are small and hold their wings in a similar position. These moths fly during the day and are often seen nectaring at flowers. In this case, we can be a little more certain of their function as pollinators.

Moths as Pollinators
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Beginners Guide to Pollinators and Other Flower Visitors

© Beatriz Moisset. 2012

Metalmark moths. More little known pollinators

Anthophila fabriciana. By Remo Angelini

So much to learn about pollinators! Huge numbers of moths, flies and beetles don't get enough credit for their jobs; the better known ones, bees and butterflies, get all the glory. So let us take a look at a little known moth or family of moths, the Choreutidae, better known as metalmark moths, not to be confused with metalmarks, which are butterflies. Both the butterflies and the moths get their names for the metallic iridescence of their wings.

They are small, no bigger than 10 mm (say, the size of your small fingernail); members of a larger group of moths often called micromoths. The wings are broad and square-tipped; this gives them a chunky appearance. The patches of metallic colors on their wings can be very colorful.

Saptha divitiosa by Bettaman

Metalmark moths fly during the day and can be seen often at flowers. They drink nectar with their long tongues, just as many other moths and butterflies do. Not much is know about their role as pollinators, but we can be almost certain that they perform this function for some flowers, considering their habits.

More is known about the mimicry that many of them perform with their peculiar appearance. The pattern of their wings resembles a jumping spider. They also move in a way that adds to the deception. This disguise serves them well; jumping spiders ordinarily prey on them, but sometimes are deceived to the point to behave as if they were facing a member of their own species. I have no pictures to put here, but you can see a spider mimic.

A few members of the family, called brenthia, strut around like peacocks, so naturally they are called peacock brenthia.

It would be nice to learn more about metal mark moths' role as pollinators. If anyone reading this knows more or has had the opportunity to see one of these moths in action, please, let me know. I will strive to find and photograph some of them next season.

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© Beatriz Moisset. 2012

Black-and-yellow lichen moth, a little known pollinator

We are very familiar with the pollinating role of butterflies and we are aware that a number of moths, such as the hummingbird moth also visit flowers frequently and provide pollinating services. But we seldom pay attention to the countless other flower-visiting moths and their roles as pollinators.

Lycomorpha pholus (Black-and-yellow Lichen Moth), a very likely pollinator

The black-and-yellow lichen moth is a very attractive, rather slender moth often seen visiting goldenrods and some other flat, open flowers. It is widely distributed throughout the continent, from Canada to Texas and Mexico. Adults fly from June to September. The larva may take longer than a year to complete its development.

Its wings are black and yellow or black and orange as its name indicates. The body and legs are black or blue-black. The caterpillar of this moth and a number of its relatives feed on lichens; that is what the other part of the name refers to. It resembles the lichens it feeds on in color and appearance; a convenient disguise that hides it from predators.

The adult performs another interesting trick of mimicry. It bears an astonishing resemblance to some beetles, called net-winged beetles, especially the end band net-wing or Calopteron terminale. These beetles are poisonous and are avoided by hungry birds. The contrasting colors serve as advertisement of their bad taste. The black-and-yellow lichen moth is also poisonous and so is the orange-patched smoky moth, another one with a similar pattern. The resemblance seems to be beneficial to all of them. Birds need to learn only one kind of warning signal to avoid all these unrelated species and so more beetles and moths survive than if they exhibited different alarm signals. This is called Mullerian mimicry in honor of Muller, the first one to describe and explain this phenomenon.

Calopteron terminale (End Band Net-wing), a poisonous lycid beetle

Orange-patched Smoky Moth, a member of the mimicry complex

Little is known about the black-and-yellow lichen moth's role as a pollinator; but given its flower-visiting habits it is almost certain that it performs this function. This is just another example of how much we need to learn about moths and their role in the ecosystems. If anybody reading this knows of some information on the subject, please, point me in the right direction. We all need to learn more about this and many other moths' capacity as pollinators.

Another view of the black-and-yellow Lichen Moth

See: Bugguide.net
Moths as Pollinators
List of articles
Beginners Guide to Pollinators and Other Flower Visitors

© Beatriz Moisset. 2012

Pollinators, the night shift

 We are familiar with day-blooming flowers and day-visiting insects, bees, butterflies, flies and a few others. These insects usually prefer nice, warm, sunny days to visit flowers. In fact, their muscles need a certain critical temperature to begin functioning. It is possible to see some of these pollinators sitting still during chilly mornings, waiting for the sun to warm them up sufficiently so they can take to the air.

Nocturnal moths are another story. Some are well adapted to colder temperatures; they also have eyes that allow them to fly at night. Fortunately for them there are flowers that bloom at this time. Such flowers are likely to produce more nectar at night; they also release aromas that the moths are well attuned to and that enable them to find the flowers.

So when the day pollinators complete their 9-5 schedule, the night shift takes over. Let us clarify that many of these night fliers are more active at dawn or dusk than in the dead of the night. They are called crepuscular pollinators.

You may be fortunate enough to have one of those visitors to your garden if you have moonflowers, evening primroses, Nicotiana or morning glories. It can be quite a treat to see hawk moths in a regular basis visiting your garden; some seem to have a fixed schedule and show up almost daily at their appointed time. They are large, fly silently and unfurl their straw-like tongues in front of long-tubed flowers like the ones mentioned. They look like hummingbirds drinking nectar while suspended in the air. They have handsome patterns on their wings, not as striking as those of butterflies, but very beautiful in a sedate way.

Other dawn or dusk pollinators are less familiar to most of us. The squash bee is an early riser, following the schedule of squash blossoms and finishing her daily chores just after dawn or at mid-morning when blossoms begin to wilt. They are said to be up before sunrise; however, I have never seen them so early. Maybe I should spend more time in the pumpkin patch and I may catch some of them.

Worth mentioning are truly nocturnal pollinators of a different stripe, bats. Most cactus bloom at night, they are strongly scented and produce big flowers with abundant nectar, just right for such large fliers. In the absence of bats, the landscapes of the West would be profoundly different, without the rich flora of saguaros, barrel cacti and prickly pears.

Night Blooms and their Pollinators
Moths as Pollinators
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Beginners Guide to Pollinators and Other Flower Visitors

© Beatriz Moisset. 2011