Moth looks poisonous but isnt?

[Mantis Man13]

Hey, I have seen this moth alot and feed it to my mantises but it looks poisonous even though it isnt. the only reason I feed it to my mantises is because I know moths arent poisonous. This moth is rather large, a littleover 1 inch long and hefty. It has orange and black markings on wings and abdomen which makes it look poisonous. Please tell me why and what species it is?

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

That's a tiger moth in the genus Apantesis... Funny, they're supposed to be toxic. Maybe they're actually just distasteful and mantises don't care, or perhaps the toxin only affects vertebrates.

 

[Mantis Man13]

Wait... THEY ARE TOXIC?!?!?!? I have been feeding them to my mantises and nothing has happened ever for years? Should I stop feeding them to it? Could they be affecting my mantises? Also, are there any other toxic insects you know of?

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Well, it sounds like you're mantises are fine. Personally I wouldn't have risked feeding tiger moths to my mantises, however they are a common and widespread group of insects found all over the world and I wouldn't be surprised if most mantis species have evolved resistance to the toxins. Some kinds of birds can eat tiger moths without ill effects.

I would say that most insects that are brightly colored, bold and diurnal, or easy to find and capture (e.g most moths fly away when you try to catch them and are well camoflauged, tiger moths are brightly colored and sit still) could be poisonous, especially to exotic mantids that didn't evolve alongside them or similar species. However it seems that mantids aren't bothered by at least some toxic insects.

 

[Sticky]

My mantids and at them with no problems. They wont eat one of the tussock moths. Its the tan one with two turquoise lines on its thorax and delicate lines on the wings.

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Well then they must have different toxins. According to wikipedia Halysidota contains alkaloids acquired from host plants. It doesn't say anything about what's in Apantesis or any closely related genera however.

 

[Mantis Man13]

ok. Any other bugs I should look out for? For example, I have seen and fed moths that were brightly colored in assorted speckles of color that included white, red, yellow, and black. Is this bad too? I am freaking out here knowing insects and other things that I am feeding my mantis could be poisonous!!!!

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

If you fed your mantises brightly colored moths and they didn't die, it's likely they were poisonous but the mantises are immune to their specific kind of toxin.

It's fairly easy to avoid poisonous insects. If it's clearly making an effort not to be found or caught, it's fast and hard to catch or well camouflaged, it's probably harmless.

Even if you do accidentally feed your mantis something nasty, there's a good chance they will instinctively recognize and reject it upon tasting it. Most poisonous insects have closely related species or at least species that employ the same or similar poisons, so even a mantis from Africa will know better than to eat an American moth that tastes just like those other slightly different ones from home that instinct tells it are not good to eat at all...

If a bug is brightly colored, easily seen during the day, and not particularly quick or wary it is probably toxic.

 

[Mantis Man13]

I have heard cyanide is found on any moth's wings. Should I clip wings off of moths when I feed them to my mantises? Should my mantises have more variety of insects than moths just to make sure?

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

No, many moth species are totally harmless. If a moth does have cyanide in its wings than there's probably a whole lot more cyanide in its body.

I don't think moths are very nutritious. Many species feed little or not at all as adults and survive on fat stored as a caterpillar. That means they're high in fat and lose their nutritional value rapidly as they age.

 

[Mantis Man13]

But they have been my mantises main staple of food!!! What could I feed my mantises that could easily be found? My Orchids can only eat flying insects. If I have been feeding them moths are they unhealthy?

 

[Salmonsaladsandwich]

Flies, bees (if you're worried about the stinger then you can learn to recognize drones and feed them only), small dragonflies etc.

I don't think all moths are bad. Noctuid moths and sphingid moths live a long time and feed on nectar frequently and are probably better than ones that don't feed.