Nephilia cutting web to free rejected moth.
Eudulaphasia invaria is a small but conspicuous day-flying moth which ranges from Brazil to Mexico. In Corcovado I found that it places eggs in spider webs near host plants, Spigelia anthelemia (Loganiaceae). It has been cultivated in Austin for 18 generations. In laboratory experiments, spiders and preying mantids attack but reject these moths. They are highly repellent to insect predators. Research projects planned include:
a) finding the chemical responsible for the repellent qualities of E. invaria
b) studies on the learning ability of salticid spiders (we use Texas spiders, e.g., Nephilia)
c) testing for the ability to sequester host plant chemicals (Costa Rican moths are fed plants from Brazil, Florida and Texas in addition to natural hosts) by looking for variation in compounds stored by these moths that follows variation in host plant chemistry.
| Chemical ecology: spider responses to adult Eudulophasia | L.E. Gilbert |
| Oviposition behavior in Eudulophasia (Geometridae) | L.E. Gilbert |
| Chemical ecology: Eudulophasia interactions with Spigelia hosts (Loganiaceae) | L.E. Gilbert |
| Systematics of Spigelia | Kathy Gould (web page) |
| Return to: | Gilbert Lab |
