Wing scales are powdery structures that slip easily off the wings. When a moth or butterfly strikes an orb spider web, the scales stick to the web's gluey droplets and the moth or butterfly does not. In turn, spiders have evolved various specializations to increase their moth-trapping ability. The ultimate spider weapon, found in bola spiders and others, may be synthesizing a copy of a female moth's sex attractant perfume. This lures male moths to their doom.
Lepidopteran marvels abound.
Similarly, caterpillars are primarily plant eaters, but some eat flowers or ant larvae and pupae, and others eat dung. As a result, defecation takes place only at weekly or longer intervals. The feces, however, are a rich food resource for sloth moth caterpillars. When the sloth descends to the ground to defecate, gravid moth females leave the sloth to lay their eggs on the fresh dung. Riding on the sloth ensures that the female moth is around at those rare and short moments when the caterpillar food is voided.