{"id":2208577,"date":"2026-10-14T06:00:57","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T04:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=2208577"},"modified":"2026-10-12T09:44:23","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T07:44:23","slug":"this-sloth-has-moths-living-in-its-fur-the-reason-why-is-remarkable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/this-sloth-has-moths-living-in-its-fur-the-reason-why-is-remarkable\/","title":{"rendered":"This sloth has moths living in its fur. The reason why is remarkable"},"content":{"rendered":"

British birds such as blackbirds, jays and woodpeckers will sometimes come down to the ground, fan their wings and allow ants to swarm over them, possibly squashing the ants as they do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think it\u2019s to do with reducing parasite loads, because the [formic] acid from the ants does that, though people are still open-minded about what\u2019s going on,\u201d says Rob Cooke, senior ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UK CEH).<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the male spotted antbirds that will use live crickets to attract a mate. Crickets provide vital nutrition for the species when the breeding season comes around, and the presentation of a live one tells the female it\u2019s time to begin. \u201cHe\u2019s telling her, \u2018There\u2019s loads of crickets, let\u2019s make some chicks,\u2019\u201d Cooke explains.<\/p>\n

Or there\u2019s the brown-throated sloths that have moths living in their fur. The moths deposit nitrogen and stimulate algal<\/a> growth, which the sloths eat. When they descend to the forest floor to defecate, the moths lay their eggs in the dung.<\/p>\n

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The brown-throated sloth has moths living in its fur \u2013 these deposit nitrogen and stimulate algal growth, which the sloths eat. Credit: Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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All these unusual examples of how vertebrates benefit from insects are contained in a new research paper published in\u00a0Nature Reviews Biodiversity<\/em>\u00a0which attempts to set out the full extent of the importance of insects to all groups within the phylum \u2013 mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.<\/p>\n

Of course, insects are primarily of use as food. Nearly three-quarters of terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates eat invertebrates (and mainly insects), and for 40 per cent, insects are their only food. As Cooke points out, even seed-eating birds require caterpillars to feed their offspring.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey turn plant material into the protein that all the vertebrates depend on,\u201d he says. \u201cThey\u2019re little bundles of energy, protein and water that can easily be fed to chicks.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Blue
A blue tit delivers a caterpillar to its young. Credit: Ben Schonewille\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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There are some examples \u2013\u00a0but not many proven beyond doubt \u2013\u00a0where the decline in insect populations has led to a corresponding decline in mammals or birds. For example, the decline in bogong moths is impacting mountain pygmy possums, while the extinction of the Rocky Mountain locust has led to an almost certainly similar fate for the Eskimo curlew.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, we do know that, in general, insectivorous birds in Europe are doing worse than seed-eating ones, which suggests that this has something to do with insect abundance.<\/p>\n

\u201cInsects are foundational, and we need to reframe how we appreciate them and interact with them,\u201d says Cooke. \u201cIt\u2019s about thinking how they also help things that we love, and without them, the world would be a poorer place.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This article <\/a>by James Fair was first published by Discover Wildlife on 7 October 2026. Lead Image: Brown-throated sloth. credit: efenzi\/Getty Images.
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