A sloth moth is a coprophagous

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

which has evolved to exclusively inhabit the fur of

sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their li ...

s and to use sloth dung as a substrate for the early stages of reproduction. Sloth moths include '' Bradypodicola hahneli'', ''

Cryptoses choloepi ''Cryptoses choloepi'' is a sloth moth in the snout moth family that as an adult lives exclusively in the fur of sloths, mammals found in South and Central America. Adult female moths live in the fur of the brown three-toed sloth '' Bradypus vari ...

'', ''

Cryptoses waagei ''Cryptoses waagei'' is a species of snout moth in the genus ''Cryptoses''. It was described by John David Bradley in 1982 and is found in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the la ...

'', ''

Cryptoses rufipictus ''Cryptoses rufipictus'' is a species of snout moth in the genus ''Cryptoses''. It was described by John David Bradley in 1982 and is known from French Guiana and Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil ( ...

'', and ''

Bradypophila garbei ''Bradypophila'' is a genus of snout moths. It was described by R. v. Ihering in 1914, and contains the species ''Bradypophila garbei''. It is found in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese ...

''. Certain lepidopteran moths of the snout moth family Pyralidae (namely

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Chrysauginae) have evolved to inhabit sloth fur exclusively. Typically, sloth moths follow a life-style broadly on the lines of ''

'', a moth in the snout moth family that lives exclusively in the fur of the brown three-toed sloth '' Bradypus variegatus infuscatus''. Adult female moths leave the fur of the sloth to lay eggs in the sloth droppings when the sloth descends, once a week, to the forest floor to defecate. The larvae of ''Cryptoses choloepi'' live in the dung and newly emerged moths later fly from the dung pile into the forest canopy to find a host sloth. Chrysaugine moths, such as ''

Cryptoses ''Cryptoses'' is a genus of snout moths. It was described by Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. in 1908. Species * ''Cryptoses choloepi ''Cryptoses choloepi'' is a sloth moth in the snout moth family that as an adult lives exclusively in the fur of slot ...

'' spp., spend their lives as adults in the fur of sloths, particularly the three-toed species, except when the sloths descend to defecate and females fly to the sloth dung to oviposit. An imbalance in population sex ratios favouring males has been noticed and surmised as female moths not making it back to host sloths after ovipositing. Sloth moths are thought to get nutrients from the secretions of the sloths' skin and the algae present on the fur, as well as protection from avian predators. Some individual three-toed sloths have been recorded carrying more than 120 moths in their fur. Two-toed sloths are recorded as harbouring lower populations. Several different moth species may coexist on the same host animal.

References

Pyraloidea Moths of South America Coprophagous insects Sloths

See also

References

Further reading