Pink Underwing Moth Caterpillar

Nature in its chaotic perfection always finds a way to surprise us. In its vast biodiversity, we can find this beautiful specimen with a highly elaborated defense mechanism. I am talking about the larvae of the popular Pink Underwing Moth, an endangered species endemic to the subtropical rainforest. It lives at under 600 meters of elevation in the Australian states of New South Gales and Queensland. These larvae have developed a very characteristic pattern to protect themselves from potential predators: a skeleton face on their back.

One could imagine that this larva’s huge set of eyes would be enough to communicate it is not easy prey, but it doesn’t conform to that. That’s why it has developed an incredible pattern that assimilates the face of a skull faking a huge set of teeth that could tear any predator apart. The question is why, still having this defense mechanism, are these moths so rare to find? One could imagine this type of natural protection would make any species survive, but it’s not the case. The reason why this species is not able to exit its endangered state is that it is very special with what it eats. The only potential habitats for which Phyllodes imperialis develops are limited to those in which you can find the only plant they eat: Carronia multisepalea. This plant is a rainforest vine that grows in the subtropical rainforests of eastern Australia. It is so rare that therefore the pink underwing moth becomes rare too since it doesn’t find habitats for its development. In fact, the larvae have only been found in six different spots of the jungle.

Even with its great effort to intimidate its predators with the huge skeleton pattern it has on its body the larva doesn’t secure its existence for its weakness does not exist outside of it, but inside. The larva will never be able to survive simply by changing its appearance, but by evolving and changing its diet. It is an example of how it is more significant to change from the inside than from the outside. The larva of the pink underwing moth is a perfect natural representation of the human belief that we should change our exterior to be accepted by others instead of changing the mindset from the inside. Most of the time people believe that they need to adopt certain beauty standards to avoid being attacked and rejected by society. On the other hand, the interesting situation of risk that the moth lives in reminds us that we will never free ourselves from the suffering on the outside if we don’t change from the inside to accept ourselves.

The larva of the pink underwing moth reminds us that our greatest issues lie in the interior of ourselves and that the best way to overcome them is adapting how we see life from within, not changing how we look to pretend we are something we are not.