BRN 9-3 - Flipbook - Page 10
P
Q
Q. A cropped image of ÒPÓ. This
beetle was introduced as a
biological pest control for the nonnative Tamarisk or Salt Cedar. This
image Þrst appeared in The Black
Range Naturalist in July 2025, part
of a series of articles on Salt
Cedar.
False Eyes and Tails
The Òfalse eyesÓ which butterßies and
moths often display on their wings are
used as a predator defense
mechanism, which is assumed to
either scare predators into thinking
they are facing a larger animal or,
more commonly, redirect attacks to
less vital parts of the butterßy's
wings. The video at this link is of a
Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus; it
illustrates the redirect function very
well. The video shows that this is not
a static display: the ÒantennaÓ moves
and the eyes ßair. The image to the
right was taken on 07 September
2025 in Warm Springs Wash, NE of
Hillsboro. The butterßy was nectaring
on Seepwillow.
There have been recent studies which
substantiate the statements made
above about the role of eyespots. A
good basic discussion of this function
is found in ÒThe Role of eyespots as
9
anti-predator mechanisms, principally
demonstrated in the LepidopteraÓ,
Martin Stevens, Biological reviews of
the Cambridge Philosophical Society,
December 2005.
