The Dangers of Growing Old: Adult Moths Face Higher Predation Pressures than Caterpillars in <i>Hyles lineata</i>
Holometabolous insects display drastically different morphologies across life stages (i.e., larvae vs. adults). Morphological differences across life stages, such as different sizes and coloration, likely result in differential survival, as predators may find individuals of one life stage more consp...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/4/347 |
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| author | Braulio A. Sanchez Oceane Da Cunha Jackson W. Savage L. Miles Horne Sol Saenz-Arreola Kajaya Pollard Oliver Neria Spencer Duffendack Simon Terrazas Javier M. Diaz John Deitsch Brett M. Seymoure |
| author_facet | Braulio A. Sanchez Oceane Da Cunha Jackson W. Savage L. Miles Horne Sol Saenz-Arreola Kajaya Pollard Oliver Neria Spencer Duffendack Simon Terrazas Javier M. Diaz John Deitsch Brett M. Seymoure |
| author_sort | Braulio A. Sanchez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Holometabolous insects display drastically different morphologies across life stages (i.e., larvae vs. adults). Morphological differences across life stages, such as different sizes and coloration, likely result in differential survival, as predators may find individuals of one life stage more conspicuous and/or more energetically profitable than another. Furthermore, prey conspicuousness may vary temporally because both the sensory environment and predator sensory abilities differ between day and night. Here, we investigated how the interaction between life stage (caterpillar vs. moth) and time of day (day vs. night) influences predation of the white-lined sphinx (Lepidoptera: <i>Hyles lineata</i>). We predicted that caterpillars would be less susceptible to predation than adult moths, as adults are larger and have a more conspicuous shape. After quantifying predation for 72 h during dawn and dusk using 199 plasticine replicas each of adults and caterpillars, predation on adult replicas was twice that of predation on caterpillar replicas. Furthermore, replicas were six times more likely to be predated on during the day than during the night. Lastly, attacks were made mainly by birds, which carried out 86% of the attacks on adult models and 85% of those on caterpillar models. These data support the hypothesis that predation rates differ across life stages in holometabolous insects. This research lays a foundation for further investigation into how specific differences in morphology across life stages affect predation and survival in holometabolous insects. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e5d58f11efc64cd9bc7e2bf7e79f4ced |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj-art-e5d58f11efc64cd9bc7e2bf7e79f4ced2025-08-20T02:18:03ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502025-03-0116434710.3390/insects16040347The Dangers of Growing Old: Adult Moths Face Higher Predation Pressures than Caterpillars in <i>Hyles lineata</i>Braulio A. Sanchez0Oceane Da Cunha1Jackson W. Savage2L. Miles Horne3Sol Saenz-Arreola4Kajaya Pollard5Oliver Neria6Spencer Duffendack7Simon Terrazas8Javier M. Diaz9John Deitsch10Brett M. Seymoure11Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USAChihuahuan Desert Biodiversity REU, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USAChihuahuan Desert Biodiversity REU, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79902, USAHolometabolous insects display drastically different morphologies across life stages (i.e., larvae vs. adults). Morphological differences across life stages, such as different sizes and coloration, likely result in differential survival, as predators may find individuals of one life stage more conspicuous and/or more energetically profitable than another. Furthermore, prey conspicuousness may vary temporally because both the sensory environment and predator sensory abilities differ between day and night. Here, we investigated how the interaction between life stage (caterpillar vs. moth) and time of day (day vs. night) influences predation of the white-lined sphinx (Lepidoptera: <i>Hyles lineata</i>). We predicted that caterpillars would be less susceptible to predation than adult moths, as adults are larger and have a more conspicuous shape. After quantifying predation for 72 h during dawn and dusk using 199 plasticine replicas each of adults and caterpillars, predation on adult replicas was twice that of predation on caterpillar replicas. Furthermore, replicas were six times more likely to be predated on during the day than during the night. Lastly, attacks were made mainly by birds, which carried out 86% of the attacks on adult models and 85% of those on caterpillar models. These data support the hypothesis that predation rates differ across life stages in holometabolous insects. This research lays a foundation for further investigation into how specific differences in morphology across life stages affect predation and survival in holometabolous insects.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/4/347Chihuahuan DesertHawk mothholometabolismlife stageplasticine modelstemporal niche |
| spellingShingle | Braulio A. Sanchez Oceane Da Cunha Jackson W. Savage L. Miles Horne Sol Saenz-Arreola Kajaya Pollard Oliver Neria Spencer Duffendack Simon Terrazas Javier M. Diaz John Deitsch Brett M. Seymoure The Dangers of Growing Old: Adult Moths Face Higher Predation Pressures than Caterpillars in <i>Hyles lineata</i> Insects Chihuahuan Desert Hawk moth holometabolism life stage plasticine models temporal niche |
| title | The Dangers of Growing Old: Adult Moths Face Higher Predation Pressures than Caterpillars in <i>Hyles lineata</i> |
| title_full | The Dangers of Growing Old: Adult Moths Face Higher Predation Pressures than Caterpillars in <i>Hyles lineata</i> |
| title_fullStr | The Dangers of Growing Old: Adult Moths Face Higher Predation Pressures than Caterpillars in <i>Hyles lineata</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Dangers of Growing Old: Adult Moths Face Higher Predation Pressures than Caterpillars in <i>Hyles lineata</i> |
| title_short | The Dangers of Growing Old: Adult Moths Face Higher Predation Pressures than Caterpillars in <i>Hyles lineata</i> |
| title_sort | dangers of growing old adult moths face higher predation pressures than caterpillars in i hyles lineata i |
| topic | Chihuahuan Desert Hawk moth holometabolism life stage plasticine models temporal niche |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/4/347 |
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