Field Observations of Bird Predation on Neotropical Moths

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Abstract
Field observations were made of moth-eating birds in northern Venezuela. Of the 908 moths attacked, 764 were eaten. Geometridae were least acceptable, followed by Arctiidae, Pyralidae, Sphingidae, Megalopygidae, Notodontidae and the largely palatable, Noctuidae. Moths that appear to be most clearly distasteful to some birds include Pantherodes unciaria Guenee (Geometridae), species of Agylla, Eucereon, Bertholdia, Melese and Cosmosoma (Arctiidae), Dichogama psognealis Druce (Pyralidae) and Diphthera festiva (Noctuidae). Some flycatchers seemed tolerant of the Arctiidae, a family generally considered to be unpalatable to vertebrates.

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