A sloth moth is a

coprophagous Coprophagia () or coprophagy () is the consumption of feces. The word is derived from the grc, κόπρος , "feces" and , "to eat". Coprophagy refers to many kinds of feces-eating, including eating feces of other species (heterospecifics), of ...

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 l ...

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 va ...

'', ''

Cryptoses waagei ''Cryptoses waagei'' is a species of Pyralidae, snout moth in the genus ''Cryptoses''. It was described by John David Bradley in 1982 and is found in Brazil. References

Moths described in 1982 Chrysauginae Coprophagous insects {{Chrysau ...

'', ''

Cryptoses rufipictus ''Cryptoses rufipictus'' is a species of snout moth in the genus ''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 ...

'', 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. The forewings are unicolorous dark ochreous. The larvae are associated with tree s ...

''. Certain lepidopteran moths of the

snout moth The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyralida ...

family

Pyralidae The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many (particularly older) classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyralida ...

(namely

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classifica ...

Chrysauginae The Chrysauginae are a subfamily of snout moths ( family Pyralidae). They are primarily Neotropical and include about 400 described species. Description and ecology The subfamily includes the sloth moths (genera ''Cryptoses'', ''Bradypodicola' ...

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

'', a moth in the

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 The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

. 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