Within three months, a shipment of small branches arrived in California. The branches carried not only cottony cushion scale, ...

The wiggly specimen was identified as an agave redworm moth larvae using DNA testing from the “worms” found in mezcal bottles from 2018 to 2022.

The larva rolls the leaf edge around itself for protection while it feeds. If all goes well, it will molt several times as it grows, pupate, and then emerge as a small adult moth.

Tami Gingrich outlines the effects of light pollution on native moth populations and makes suggestions for helping them.

Chemical biology 13 June 2025 Hungry caterpillars can brew exotic molecules in their guts Researchers fed moth larvae the chemical building blocks, and the insects’ enzymes did the rest.

Hungry caterpillars can brew exotic molecules in their guts Researchers fed moth larvae the chemical building blocks, and the insects’ enzymes did the rest.