It has been experimentally shown that in some cases prey mimic their predators to avoid predation. One such example is the jumping spider mimicry of tephritid flies. Choreutid moths in the genus Brenthia appear to have possibly adopted this same mimicry strategy. Jumping spiders from the genus Corythalia (Aranea) were presented with live moths belonging to two categories: 1) moths from the genus Brenthia (presumed mimics) and 2) moths from other choreutid genera (non-mimics). Preliminary studies indicate that adult Brenthia have more than twice the survivorship of other choreutids when placed in an arena with Corythalia spiders for five minutes (G=3.922, P<0.05). Video footage of adult Brenthia hexaselena documents salticid-like behavior, e.g., erratic and sudden movements punctuated by periods of stasis.
Species 1: Lepidoptera Choreutidae Brenthia hexaselena
Species 2: Araneae Salticidae Corythalia
Keywords: behavior, microlepidoptera
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