Miller moth: surprisingly, bears migrate to hunt these insects (6 photos)

If you're worried that you can't lose weight for the new year, don't be sad. Compared to this butterfly, you are skinny! The miller moth, or army moth, consists of 72% fat! In relation to mass, it is thicker than seals, bears and even whales!





Hey, skinny girl on the other side of the screen. You look good!

In the life of every butterfly there comes a turning point, after which the insect will no longer be the same. In army cutworms it proceeds so radically that the adult is not only different in appearance, but also has a different name - the miller moth. The army scoop is called because of its love for camouflage. From an early age, each caterpillar dresses in khaki colors. So until the end of her life, her entire wardrobe remains in the range between dark green and brown.



Soldiers get up!

The adult owl's outfit is not much more beautiful, but it has wings covered with small scales. They are the reason why adult army scoops are called millers. A scattering of scales resembling flour remains on clothes after moths. They don't bake bread. But they overeat as if they were eating buns and cakes 24/7!





Army cutworms, like any moth, fly towards the light. But during migration, they do this in such large numbers that locals shake them out from under lampshades by the hundreds.

Army soviets did not skip military training courses. Therefore, in the spring, like clockwork, the caterpillars wake up from their sleep and become a nightmare for farmers in North America. Little thing immediately realizes that for a happy life she needs to eat well. In tons they destroy everything that comes into contact with their teeth: wormwood, bindweed, mustard, rapeseed and any low shrubs. Having eaten well, the moth grows wings and flies to the mountains. Here the moths will drink the nectar of mountain flowers. And also fight fiercely for your life with... bears.



I'm just a pebble, not a nutritious bug. You can pass by!

It just so happens that army scoops have something in common with army rations - they are extremely nutritious. All their lives they eat to their fill: while caterpillars, on plants, afterward, on nectar. And all in order to survive the winter. Unlike other moths, the army moth is not ready to raise the white flag in the face of frost. The insect eats so much that it consists of 72% fat.



Take a photo so that your belly is not too visible.

This makes the butterfly the fattest animal on the planet. And also the most nutritious resource in the area. Why chase deer and elk when you can eat a couple of dozen bugs and eat your fill? The local clubfoot knows this. Therefore, in the summer they migrate after the butterflies to the mountains in order to properly store their own fat for hibernation.



Footage of a bear hunting a moth. No joke: the clubfoot digs up the rocks where the moths hide and eats them.

Towards the end of summer, miller moths' desire to live in the mountains wanes as mating season begins. This means it’s time to return to our native lowland fields, simultaneously making masonry wherever possible. One female leaves about 1000 eggs at a time. Because of this, classical methods of getting rid of pests on army cutworms work very poorly.