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During the last days, the citizens of the capital have noticed an increase in the presence of moths, many of them large, which can be seen especially at night.
This has led many to qualify the situation as a plague, but is it so?
The entomologist Alfredo Ugarte answered this question in conversation with the program Bío Bío Express.
Ugarte indicated that what is lived in the capital is “absolutely normal”And attributed the proliferation of moths to the amount of rains that occurred in winter, which was greater than last year.
“There’s a lot more grass in the hillsIn bare places, weeds develop more, and this favors insects. In this case, the moths, ”he said.
He added that many of the moths seen today are of the Noctuidae type, seen mostly in the field and known as the corn moth since many times they are found in said vegetable in the form of larvae.
Along with that, he stated that there are also hummingbird moths, which are larger than the former.
And what do moths do?
The well-known “bichologist” also said that “all moths are butterflies“, Therefore,” as good butterflies are excellent pollinators. “
This means that moths are important when it comes to plant reproduction.
Ugarte commented that there are plants that pollinate at night, “then it is very important that there are butterflies, because at night the bees don’t work“.
“One of the plants that people most recognize and pollinate at night are the Cactus. Cacti without moths, and even without bats, would be in serious reproductive problems ”, he added.
In addition, he said that moths have other roles, such as organic matter degrader and it also serves as a food source for other animals.
Listen to the interview conducted by Loreto Álvarez and Álvaro Escobar:
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