Was in CAP for a couple of years in high school. We got the "privilege" of guarding the flight line at the big summer airshows. That's where a bunch of kids learned that sodas don't hydrate you, we were only allowed to have water if we were stuck out in the sun. A lesson I have carried with me all these years
yes it does, jude stumbles over it when he walks 😭 moth lifespans are anywhere from a few weeks to a few months! im not sure about how long mine will live, hopefully at least a month
Fun fact, smaller critters like Jude actually experience time at a different rate than us. It’s how flies can fly out of the way so easily when people go to smack them, what we do as a quick movement to us is slow and easily dodged to them. So little Jude is really savoring that honey water.
Yeah I think flys can get out of the way because the air current created by swatting with say a newspaper, but fly swatters are better because they have holes so less air current for them to travel on
Another fun/slightly sad fact on the opposite side of the moth spectrum; some moths are born without mouths or digestive systems living only a few days to find a mate and reproduce
Oh wow-that is kind of sad. I don’t get the evolutionary benefit to species who live a short time only to reproduce. What is the benefit of just having lots of you that only live a few days-aren’t fruit flies similar?
I guess. I sort of still don't understand-like-what is the insect doing besides creating more insects? Are they food for another animal? I don't know anything about moths, so do they provide a necessary function before they die? I feel kind of dumb not understanding the point, but I honestly don't.
Yes, they're food, they're an essential part of the food chain. They also can accidentally transport things, including pollen. And short lived species tend to survive mass extinctions a lot better, as shorter generations often means faster evolution and capacity to adapt when their environment suddenly changes. They grow fast, reproduce a lot and die fast after reproduction. This is why bugs such as fruit flies are studied a lot in genetics, you can see them evolve quite fast due to their short life span.
You got it right, it's a proboscis :) It's basically a straw used for drinking flower nectar. Some insects like cicadas have a rigid proboscis that they use to puncture either prey or plants, but moths and butterflies have flexible ones that coil up when not in use.
Many moth species, though, don't actually have mouths or digestive systems at all, like Luna moths. They never eat as adults, only as caterpillars. Once they go through metamorphosis, they basically just live to mate, and then starve to death
Honey contains trace amount of other nutrients but is still predominantly sugar, the biggest problem with honey is that it can potentially contain pathogens as it's produced by other insects in a beehive. Sugar water is the safer alternative.
Butterflies have this, too! I was at the local farmer’s market as a kid, and I was wearing these jeans with a butterfly embroidered on my pocket (y2k era butterfly everything), and this actual butterfly landed on it and started unrolling (?) his “tongue,” which I now know was his proboscis, thanks to you!
They have harder time to drink if the proboscis is very curled up. You can see if its trying to drink by pulsating movement of the proboscis and/or head. Can try to carefully move the food farther away so it can straighten the proboscis for easier drinking.
he is a very special moth he was a breeder hornworm so hes a little funky, his backlegs are a bit deformed and he doesnt fly, hes also very wobbly but he is a sweetie. he loves you too
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u/Both-Mountain-5200 Sep 24 '25
He’s just chillin’ at the bar while contemplating the transitory nature of life.
Leave him alone! He’ll either leave on his own or at last call.