Insects are renowned for their strange tastes in food, but few rival

Lobocraspis griseifusa, a moth from Southeast Asia. To find it, you must

go to the forest, wait until nightfall, then look into the eyes of an amenable

water buffalo. If your luck holds, you will witness a jostling crowd of

moths intent on a single delicacy: tears.

When researchers first announced that certain moths drank tears, their

reports were greeted with scepticism. Some entomologists thought it a freak

behaviour, or suspected that the insects involved were flies rather than

moths. Yet subsequent research has revealed tear drinking to be a specialised

and sophisticated strategy, with important medical and veterinary implications

.

Moths that drink tears are fastidious in their tastes, restricting their

attentions to certain species of animal. The usual victims are either hoofed

mammals, such as cattle and other bovids, deer, horses, tapirs and pigs,

or elephants – and, on occasion, people. Researchers have yet to witness

moths visiting the eyes of carnivores, marsupials, birds, or members of

any other group of vertebrates. This preference for certain hosts is not

yet fully understood, but it may reflect differences in the chemical composition

of tears from different animals. Another factor could be the host’s behaviour.

The most frequent victims are the most placid and tolerant mammals – an

important consideration for insects that habitually fumble around the eyes

of large animals with intent to steal.

Moths adopt a variety of ingenious techniques in their quest for tears.

Lobocraspis griseifusa, which is one of the most highly evolved tear suckers,

irritates the eye of its victim, thereby inducing a copious flow …