Nature’s Little Shop of Horrors…..

A new moth species? No. This hawkmoth has been parasitized by an Akanthomyces fungus (a Cordyceps anamorph) until it caused it’s demise (seemingly during a normal resting period) and totally consuming and mummifying the corpse.

I still have this guy sealed in a container precisely the way it was when I found it……

Pu’er, Yunnan, China

See more amazing Chinese insects and arachnids on my Flickr site HERE…..