Creatonotos Gangis: Try Not To Burn It

Arctiinae moth spread almost all over the world, any country can boast the presence of this insect. Known about 11,000 species, most of whom live in in the South and Equatorial regions.

But, the people of South Asia and Australia pulled out a "lucky" ticket (who would doubt). In their territory lives the most awful specimen of this species: Creatonotos gangis.

Its wingspan is only of 40 cm image source

Most of the time this moth is no different from its relatives and looks completely innocuous, even beautiful. But everything changes with the onset of the breeding season...

image source

Males literally transform and become like the creatures, that invoke only one reaction: Burn it! Burn it! Burn it even if it is already dead!

It looks like a hybrid of a spider and a moth or aggressive alien from another galaxy. Four huge hairy outgrowths reminiscent of poisonous tentacles that are constantly moving. Fucking creepy.

image source

This crap is called coremata- bodies consisting of two tubes, hidden in the abdomen of the male. During mating, the male fills them with air or blood, coremata begin to allocate a huge amount of pheromones which attract females. Each tube is covered with approximately three thousand hairs, which help to spread the pheromones. Males violently waving wings to prolong the effect.

Usually coremata looks more modest image source

The size of these things directly relates to how the male was acting in childhood when he was a caterpillar. The more the leaves of poisonous plants he ate, the bigger and fluffier it will become coremata in adult life.

Absorbed toxins contribute to the development of the largest and most effective glands that increases the sexual attractiveness of males in the eyes of their future partners.

Here is a courtship dance from Indonesia. Looks like someone ate a lot of leaves in childhood.

While I was writing this post and choosing pictures, my cat touched my legs under the table. I almost knocked his teeth out of fear. It seemed to me that my leg touched this damn moth.

sources: Arctiinae (moth), Hair-pencil, Creatonotos gangis, Monster from Indonesia