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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: Hyles lineata). 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.
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This content will become publicly available on January 12, 2026
Predation of the white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) is dependent upon time of day but not human disturbance
Human settlements and urbanisation are increasing globally, with more than half of the Earth's terrestrial surface being impacted by humans. This development has resulted in numerous anthropogenic stressors including nocturnal sensory pollution (i.e. light pollution), which is a key driver of insect declines. Nocturnality is hypothesized to reduce predation risk from visually-guided diurnal predators. More than half of all insect species, and 80% of Lepidoptera, are estimated to be nocturnal. Predation rates on insects are likely a result of habitat, time of day and the local predator composition. We investigated how predation rates on plasticine moth replicas differed between urban and rural sites, and between night and day. Visually matching paper-winged, clay-bodied replicas of the white-lined sphinx moth, Hyles lineata, were placed in a natural area within the city of El Paso, Texas, and in remote Chihuahuan Desert with minimal human disturbance. These replicas were checked during dawn and dusk for 3 days. Predation rates were significantly lower at night than during the day regardless of location, and predator composition differed between sites. Insectivorous birds were the primary diurnal predators in both locations, whereas nocturnal predators were represented primarily by insects at the rural site and by mammals at the urban site. These findings support the hypothesis that visually-guided predators, such as birds, exert higher predation pressures during the day, and supports the hypothesis that insect biodiversity, especially of predaceous insects, is affected by urbanisation.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2349652
- PAR ID:
- 10582820
- Publisher / Repository:
- Royal Entomological Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Ecological Entomology
- ISSN:
- 1365-2311
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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