Moths drink the tears of sleeping birds A species of moth drinks tears from the eyes of sleeping birds using a fearsome proboscis shaped like a harpoon, scientists have revealed. The Madagascan moths were observed on the necks of sleeping magpie robins and Newtonia birds, with the tip of their proboscises inserted under the bird's eyelid, drinking avidly. This was during the wet season, so the scientists think the insects wanted salt, as the local soils are low in sodium.
But sleeping birds have two eyelids, both closed. So instead of the soft, straw-like mouthparts found on tear-drinking moths elsewhere, the Madagascan moth has a proboscis with hooks and barbs "shaped like an ancient harpoon", Hilgartner says.
The team does not yet know whether the insect spits out an anaesthetic to dull the irritation. They also want to investigate whether, like their counterparts elsewhere, the Madagascan tear-drinkers are all males who get most of their nutrition from the tears.
Those are some pretty darn goth moths.
Drinking tears to survive? That's hardcore.
Moths are so emo.
Stop it.
SOUTH PARK!
SOUTH PARK!
And none of these moths have LiveJournals? They'd fit right in here.
lovely. and efficient.
I'm thinking that'd be a good name for a Goth band, but I suspect I've been reading too much Questionable Content.
See also Perdido Street Station.
See also Brightness Falls from the Air, kinda sorta.
Good news for me: I can now say I've heard of something before I read it here, because a friend linked me to the article yesterday!
Bad news for me: I can't shout "EMO-TH!!!!" like I did at my friend, because so many other people have already made the same joke.