Cryptoses choloepi : A Coprophagous Moth That Lives on a Sloth

Abstract

The larvae of the sloth moth, Cryptoses choloepi, live in the dung of the three-toed sloth, Bradypus infuscatus. Adult female moths apparently leave the fur of the sloth to oviposit when the sloth descends, once a week, to the forest floor to defecate. Newly emerged moths fly from the dung pile into the forest canopy to find a sloth.