LAUSR

Simple Summary Predation on insects can depend upon numerous factors, including morphology, size, age, environment, time, and many others. Most insects undergo complete metamorphosis, in which they begin as eggs, then become larvae, then pupae, and then reproductive adults. Complete metamorphosis has been hypothesized to be advantageous for numerous reasons, including reduced predation between the different stages. Here, we tested the attack rates on a common moth, the white-lined sphinx, in both caterpillar and adult moth stages, using clay replicas. We paired caterpillar and moth replicas in a natural desert environment and monitored attack rates at dawn and dusk for 72 h. By checking attack rates at dawn and dusk, we were able to quantify if the replicas had been attacked during the day or night. We found that most attacks occurred during the day and that the chance of adult moths being attacked was more than twice that of caterpillars. Our study supports the hypothesis that non-adult stages may have reduced predation risk; however, our methodologies are only appropriate for assessing visually guided predators. Thus, future work quantifying predation involving all modalities (e.g., acoustic and chemical) is necessary to fully understand differential predation across life stages in insects.