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Animalia >Arthropoda >Insecta >Lepidoptera >Unidentified >Litobrenthia >

A gorgeous courtship dance of the small leaf roller Litobrenthia japonica
Litobrenthia japonica is a small moth about 0.9-1 mm long and is famous for a nimble dance it performs on leaves. Its forewings have several concentric rings of spots and a portion of its underwings are pale purple. The leaf roller dances while raising forewings and spreading underwings like a skirt so that pale purple part of underwings can be seen from the front. It is not clear whether this behavior is a courtship display or a display directed toward other organisms. This moth is so small that we can see its dance only under a stereoscopic microscope, which is quite a pity. (translated by Asoh)

(Data No.momo031220lj01b)

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