Abstract
AbstractFemale Lepidoptera of various families possess, at the tip of the abdomen, an anal tuft of deciduous scales that are deposited over or around their eggs during oviposition. This study describes the morphology of scales in the anal tuft of Ochrogaster lunifer, and discusses their role in egg protection. the tuft is composed of broad, flat scales and long, barbed filamentous scales. the cover of the scales over the eggs probably acts as an aposematic warning to vertebrate predators, as the white scale mass is highly conspicuous against the dark trunk of the host tree (e.g. Acacia concurrens). This may be related to the barbed filamentous scales. the broad covering of flat scales makes an effective physical shield against invertebrate predators and adverse weather. When the scale cover of egg batches was removed, egg loss from predation and rainfall increased significantly.
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