Meet the pitcher plant moths, Exyra semicrocea: one of the few insects badass enough to live their…

entomologize:

A black and yellow moth seen from above, perched on the inner wall of a pitcher plant. The pitcher is green with red veins.ALT
A photo of several pitcher plants among grass. The plants have a tube that narrows towards the base, with a heart-shaped lid held above the entrance. They are light green with red veins.ALT

Meet the pitcher plant moths, Exyra semicrocea: one of the few insects badass enough to live their whole lives in a trap specifically evolved to kill their kind.

A painted cut-away diagram of a pitcher plant, showing the opening, lid, and internal anatomy: nectar glands to attract prey, waxy walls, downward-facing hairs, and digestive juices.ALT

Pitcher plants are finely tuned to kill insects, with slippery sloping walls leading down to a pit of insect-dissolving digestive juices. But these little guys turned the tables! From the moment they hatch, they’re a pitcher’s nightmare.

A photo of a caterpillar on a pitcher plant. The caterpillar has deep blood-red segments with white stripes in between. Some segments have spikes with small hairs.ALT
A photo looking down into the opening of a pitcher plant, showing a caterpillar sealing the entrance with a fine netting of silk.ALT

The spiky blood-red caterpillars seal the pitchers’ entrances and eat them from the inside out, using the death trap as their own personal sanctuary from predators. They have specialized feet to grip onto the slippery walls, and use silk as a safety line to keep themselves from falling to their deaths.

When they emerge as adults, they wait until nightfall and then go party in other pitchers.

A photo of four adult moths, seen from the opening of the pitcher plant.ALT

Adults have only ever been observed to perch inside pitchers with their heads facing up. It’s assumed that their grip only works in one direction, and if they slip up they could fall in (like the poor fly below).

A photo of an adult moth, perched above the remains of a fly that has been partially digested by the juices at the bottom of the pitcher.ALT

So they seem to like living on the edge.

Photos & art by Laura Gaudette, Steve Taylor, Helen Cowdy, Ashley Bosarge, Deanna D, and Kpinso.