Flying into a scented trap!

Sophia peeped out from behind a leaf at the bright red bodied male Cecrophia moth with grey wings that was flitting about near the Sycamore tree a few furlongs away. When he turned around, she quickly drew back and hid herself behind the leaf again. “Ah!” she said with a dreamy look in her eyes.

“Ethan looks so handsome…. I wish he’d like me too!” Sophia was a Cecrophia moth too, but a female one. It was just a day ago that she had moulted from her cocoon, but she had already wasted enough time looking for a mate. She would live just for two weeks, and she had to lay eggs for the next generation of moths before she died. She looked wistfully at Ethan again, and wished she had the courage to approach him.

Of course, all she had to do was leave a trail of her scent, and Ethan would probably find her, but she was worried that he wouldn’t like her all that much.

“Ahem, ahem!” someone coughed behind her. Sophia gave a start. “Spying on someone, are we?” It was her best friend, Charlotte. Charlotte had already found a mate, and was impatiently waiting for her friend to do the same. However, Sophia had been pining away for Ethan, and also not told Charlotte about it.

“Uh… not spying”, started Sophie. But Charlotte didn’t wait to listen to the rest of it. She flew into Ethan’s view and cleared her throat. “You are..?” she asked him confidently. “Hi, I’m Ethan”, he smiled at her. “Did you moult this week too?”
“Yes I did”, replied Charlotte. “And I’ve already found my mate. What about you?”

Sophie was stunned. What was Charlotte doing? How could she go and speak to Ethan in that brazen manner?“No I haven’t found my mate yet”, replied Ethan, a bit sadly. “Oh well, I guess there is still time.” He cheered up again and gave another charming smile.

“Ah, then I should probably introduce you to my friend Sophie”, said Charlotte. “Sophie, come here! Ethan would like to meet you!”What? Sophie hadn’t heard Ethan say anything like that. She was sure Ethan would be embarrassed, and she herself felt too shy to come out of her hiding. But Charlotte had called her now, and she would have to go. Her red face turned even redder as she flitted over to join Charlotte at her side. “This is my friend Sophie”, she said.

“Hi”, said Sophie sheepishly. All she wished was she could just dissolve into thin air at that moment. Oh why, why did Charlotte have to make the whole thing so embarrassing?“Hi Sophie”, said Ethan cheerfully. He didn’t look annoyed or irritated, and seemed to want to talk to her. “Nice to meet you. When would you—”

“Ah, Ethan, we have to go now. Maybe you can find Sophie later and talk to her. We’re in a hurry to get to the Grove by tonight. See you later. Bye!” Before Ethan could reply, Charlotte waved a goodbye and dragged Sophie away with her. As they darted away, Sophie turned around once again and waved to a puzzled Ethan, left standing all by himself.

“Hey, why did you drag me away like that?” hissed Sophie at Charlotte. “He was just beginning to talk to me!”
“Ah, plenty of time for that”, replied Charlotte. “I just wanted to know if he likes you. Now that he does, he’ll follow you to the Grove.”

“But what if he doesn’t?” asked Sophie, almost in tears. “The Grove is so far off too. What if he thinks I have been rude? What if he thinks I am not interested?”

“Well, if he does think so idiotically, it’s his loss”, declared Charlotte. “Now let’s go to the grove and wait for him.”Dusk was falling, and the two moths, one confident and the other worried, flitted away to the “Grove”, a beautiful place full of thick trees and lovely flowers, and a favourite hangout of the Cecrophia moths.

But unknown to them, there lurked dangers too. As the moths quarreled and squabbled over the correct place to hide, and discussed the possibilities of Ethan following Sophie, a wily female spider called Witchiebola overheard their conversation and made her own plans.

“This is the right place to wait”, said Sophie. “No, this one is”, said Charlotte. “Now come here and release your scent Sophie. Ethan is sure to come searching for you!”“I do hope so”, groaned Sophie. “I still think that other spot is nicer.”
“Keep arguing my pretties”, cackled the Bolas Spider, rubbing her pincers together in glee. “Whoever it is you’re waiting for, he’s never going to make it past my trap!”

The Bolas female spiders were a cunning lot. They could release the same scents as that of the female Cecrophia moths, and fool the male moths into walking right into their trap! Witchiebola set out to make her trap— first she spun a long horizontal line of silk, like those used by trapeze artists. Then she hung down from it, motionless and silent, releasing the same scent as Sophie’s, with her front legs extended, and waiting for a male moth to come by. She made her plans.

When Ethan approached, she would hear the flutter of his wings; then she would make those sticky balls of silk and saliva, called a bola, and hang it from her front leg. When she knew the moth was near, she would swing the bola right at him, getting him trapped, and then she would make a meal out of him!

Sophie waited, but fidgeted all the time. After what seemed like an eternity, she could hear Ethan’s voice calling out for her. “Sophie! Sophie!”Sophie was just about to go to him when Charlotte pulled her back. “You should play hard to get”, she hissed at her. “Don’t give in so easily!”

Sophie looked miserable, but agreed. Ethan, meanwhile was confused. Though he thought he could get Sophie’s scent from the right, he could get a similar scent far away to the left. Had he made a mistake, he wondered. Maybe she was somewhere to the left after all; maybe that was why she wasn’t answering. He turned that way, but went slowly, so that he wouldn’t miss her.

“It’s been too long”, said Sophie. “I’m worried. What could be keeping him?”Charlotte looked worried too. “He should have got here long ago, unless….unless a Bolas spider has trapped him with the same scent.”

“What?” Sophie almost fell out of her hiding place in shock. “There are Bolas spiders around here, and you let him wander into danger?” she shouted. Not waiting for Charlotte anymore, Sophie flew out. A little away, she saw a flicker of grey wings, and also a sticky spider’s ball swinging right towards him! She darted quickly enough to ram right into Ethan and veer him off course. The ball missed him, and both moths fell to the ground, safe and sound!

“Drat it!” Witchiebola the spider grumbled. “Just when I was looking forward to the meal!”“Hey Sophie, I found you!” said Ethan, cheerful as ever. “But what was all that about?”“I’m sorry you almost died because of my silly plan”, said Charlotte, joining them. “This place wasn’t safe for you. But I’m happy for you two. Let me know when the eggs are ready!” She flitted away, leaving the two moths to plan their short, but happy life ahead.

- Sneha Verghese is a research scholar in Journalism at Osmania University, Hyderabad. Also a post-graduate in
biotechnology, she loves teaching and writing stories for kids to explain scientific concepts