🍁🦋 The Dead Leaf Moth 🍁 🦋
In the past month I have covered some really cool cases of animal mimicry. Like this moth that looks like two flies feasting on bird poop. Or this mantis that looks like an ant. And this moth that looks like a jumping spider.
Today we have yet another moth, although this one isn't mimicking another animal. Instead it goes for something less conspicuous. And it does a great job at that!
A dead leaf 🍁
Meet Uropyia meticulodina:
Definitely one of most the amazing examples of animal mimicry I have seen. But there's something even more amazing about it.
The leafs wings aren't actually curled. That's an optical illusion! They are actually flat! And yet they look curled, with the right shadows and everything!!!
Here is a video where you can take a better look on this optical illusion. The magic happens at 00:25:
And another one:
https://youtu.be/d88Q6sApYFY?si=_fmqJ0DBLObLhSRG
And here's some quick info from Wikipedia:
Uropyia meticulodina is a species of moth of the family Notodontidae first described by Oberthür in 1884. It is found in Taiwan, Japan and the Chinese provinces of Yunnan, Hubei and Shaanxi. The wingspan is 45–55 mm. Adults are dead leaf mimics
Photo with wings expanded:
And one last photo
Other then its looks, there isn't anything much special to say about the moth so I guess this it for today. As always, just click any of the links above for more info.
Ok, hope you enjoyed this one. See you soon with more amazing wonders from mother nature 😊
