Lachryphagy: When Tears is the New Food

5 months ago

Lachryphagy; the act of one animal feeding on the tears of another one. While it might sound like something untrue, a lot of animals do this and it might be a tearful diet but it is sure one they enjoy.

One animal that drinks tear is a type of moth known as the Erebid Moth that suck on bird tears for nutrient. They use a long tubular structure on their head known as proboscis to suck on the tears of the bird. All the moth needs to do is land on the neck of the neck of the bird and use their proboscis to have their tasty tear meal. This way, they will not disturb the bird, avoid attack, as well as improve their odds of sucking their tearful drink. To further increase their chances of drinking the tears, the moths do so at night when the bird is asleep and immobile.

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Scientists just found out about this act and research is still ongoing on it, so it is very difficult to say for sure why moths enjoy the tear meal but then the researchers came up with hypothesis about it which falls down to Sodium. It is said that the sodium level in the soil is dependent on flooding and this is inconsistent. With this, Moth would feed on the tears of bird for sodium when the sodium level in the soil is low. Another hypothesis look at the process of practicing Lachryphagy so as to get proteins like Albumin from the tears as this increases the reproductive success of male moths, help with better flight performance, and overall fitness.

Researchers have not been able to explain the effect the sucking causes to the bird especially since the proboscis of the moth is inserted into the eyes of the bird. Studies are still ongoing on the relationship between moth and birds.

It also looks like some species of bees have evolved to drinking tears and this time human tears. This bees are said to be benefiting from the protein in the tears which is more compared to the one from sweat. They drink human tears instead of sucking from pollen or in addition to sucking from pollen since the nutrients they need are found in the tears.

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Researcher study these bees allowing them to collect tears from the eyes. The bees after sucking the tears from the eyes, store them in their metasomas (butts) which can expand up to 5 times their usual size. Since bees are social insects you would expect they have a place where they store it in their hives and that is just what they do. These bees also feed on other mammalian tears like from dogs but according to the researchers, they prefer tears from human eyes. Before you start to ask if the bees didn't sting the researchers. You do not need to worry as they were stingless bees but study shows that normal hairy legged bees drink tears from iguana for the purpose of getting sodium, potassium, and proteins.

The phenomenon of lachryphagy showcases the incredible adaptability and resourcefulness of the animal kingdom. Although still very new, scientists are working to understand why these animals do this and what effect it can have on their hosts. From moths delicately sipping bird tears to bees storing human tears in their hives, these behaviors highlight the diverse ways animals meet their nutritional needs. While research is still unfolding, the current findings provide a glimpse into the complex interactions between species and their environments.

https://journals.ku.edu/reptilesandamphibians/article/download/14439/13271
https://www.snexplores.org/article/scientists-say-lachryphagy
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.2518
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.00574/full?utm_source=fweb&utm_medium=nblog&utm_campaign=ba-sci-fvets-animal-tears
https://doi.org/10.1080/23766808.2021.1953892
https://doi.org/10.2317/JKES0811.17.1