Moth Of The Week

Moth of the Week

Beautiful Yellow Underwing

Anarta myrtilli

The beautiful yellow underwing is a moth in the family Noctuidae. This species was first described in 1761 by Carl Linnaeus. They are predictably named for the yellow portion of the hindwings.

Description This moth has many color variations depending on region.

The most common coloration is a red and olive brown or olive yellow forewing with strong white patterning. Additionally, the forewings have a ringed stigmata (a spot by the middle of the forewing found on Nocuids) next to a distinctive white spot. The hindwings are orange-yellow with a dark brown borders.

In Sweden, northern England, and northern Scotland the forewings are instead a dull dark purple with paler patterning, the same triangular white spot, and a less visible stigmata. The hindwings are the same yellow-orange but with black borders.

Other minor differences are the forewing being mixed with olive brown in East Anglian, the red in the forewing being almost entirely switched with black in Hyères, France, and the forewing being mixed with black as well as a pale yellow hindwing in Sintra, Portugal.

Average wingspan: 21 mm (≈0.83 in)

Diet and Habitat This moth feeds on Heather and Bell Heather only. It can be found across Europe in Scandinavia, Britain, France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Russia. They prefer sunny habitats that grow heather easily such as heathland and moorland in the mountain and sandy areas.

Mating The beautiful yellow underwing usually has two generations per year from April to early September. The larvae hatch from their eggs, which are laid on heather, in July in the north and April in the south.

Predators This moth is parasitized by the flies Athrycia impressa, Campylocheta inepta, and Phryxe vulgaris while both are in their larval stages.

Fun Fact The beautiful yellow underwing flies mainly during the day but occasionally comes out at night.

(Source: Wikipedia, Butterfly Conservation, Pyrgus.de, BioInfo (UK))

Moth of the Week

Atlas Moth

Attacus atlas

This moth is a part of the Saturniidae family, or the family of great silk moths and royal moths. This moth was first described by Carl Linnaeusin 1758. The atlas moth is of of the largest species in the Lepidoptera order, the order of insects for butterflies and moths

Description An atlas moths has a small body and large wings.

Wingspan: 24 cm (9.4 in)

Wing surface area: 160 cm (≈25 in2)

The upper surface of the wings are maroon, black, white, pink, and purple with four triangular outlines in black. These outlines border a translucent part of the wings where there are no scales, the tips of the moth’s forewings resemble snakes to scare off predators.

Common traits of most Lepidoptera:

Females are larger than males

Males have larger antennae

Diet and Habitat Atlas moths are native to dry rainforests, secondary forests, and shrublands in Southern and Eastern Asia. Atlas moth caterpillars eat the leaves of citrus fruits, willows, cinnamon trees, guava trees, and Jamaican cherry trees. Adult moths do not have mouths and no not eat.

Mating For mating, a female moth will release pheromones which the male moths decent with their antennae. A female moth will lay 200 to 300 eggs on the underside of the leaves the caterpillars eat. It takes about 2 weeks for the eggs to hatch.

Predators The main predators do these moths are lizards and birds. The moth’s wings are patterned to look like snakes’ heads to scare off predators.

Fun Fact Atlas moths only live for 5 to 7 days because they live off of energy stored as a caterpillar.

(Source: Wikipedia, Animal Spot, and California Academy of Sciences)

Moth of the Week

Io Moth

Automeris io

The Io moth or peacock moth is in the family Saturniidae. The name Io comes from Greek mythology in which the mortal Io was turned into a cow by Hera for sleeping with Zeus. The eyespots are said to look like the eyes of a cow. The species was first described in 1776 by Johan Christian Fabricius.

Description Males have yellow to orangish yellow body, legs, and forewings with symmetrical brown patterned markings. On the hindwings are large black eyespots with a white center and surrounded by yellow, black, and red orange edges. Also on the hidwings are a large red orange edge on the edge closet to the body. Females have reddish-brown body, legs, and forewings with patterns in varying shades of brown. the hindwings are similar to those of the male but with maroon instead of red orange and a small light brown edge. Some hybridizations have resulted in variations in these hindwing eyespots.

Average wingspan: 75.5 mm (≈3 in)

Males have larger antennae

Females have larger bodies and wings

Diet and Habitat The io moth caterpillars first feed on the eggs they hatch from then their host plants. These host plants are a variety of grasses, herbaceous plants, shrubs, deciduous trees, and conifers. Some of these plants included the mulberry, pin cherry, willow, balsam fir, red maple, bastard indigo, wild indigo, American hornbeam, sugarberry or southern hackberry, button-bush, eastern redbud, showy partridge pea, sweetfern, flowering dogwood, and common hazel. Adults do not feed. This species’s preferred habitats are deciduous forests, thorn scrub, and suburban areas in continental North American. They range from Manitoba to Nova Scotia in Canada and from Montana to Texas and onward over all the eastern states in the United States.

Mating Io moths breed from late May to July, though southern populations may breed earlier and later in the season due to having several broods per seasons as opposed to the north’s single brood. The females emit pheromones to call males as soon as the second night after leaving the cocoon. Males detect female pheromones with their antennae and mating lasts for about 90 minutes staring around 9:45 to 10:30 pm. 3 to 5 days after mating, females lay their eggs in clusters of 20 to 35 on the host plants leave or stems. Eggs hatch after 8 to 11 days.

Average eggs laid: 300

Predators This species is harmed by many species of parasitic flies and wasps and hunted by birds, small mammals, and spiders. In defense, the caterpillars of the io moth have venomous spikes. This venom isn’t fatal to humans, but it does caus acute dermatitis. The adult io moths use their hindwing eyespots to scare off predators by shaking them to imitate a larger animal.

Fun Fact Adult moths are strictly nocturnal and rest on the branches or trucks of trees during the day.

(Source: Wikipedia, University of Florida, Missouri Department of Conservation, Butterflies and Moths of North America, Animal Diversity Web, Adopt and Shop, Kiddle)

Moth of the Week

Comet Moth

Argema mittrei

TW: Trypophobia for pictures

The comet moth or the Madagascan moon moth was first described in 1847 by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville. This moth is a part of the Saturniidae family and is one of the largest silk moths. This species receives its genus name Argema, meaning 'speckled eye' in Greek, from the large eyespots on its forewings and hindwings. Additionally, the name comet moth comes from their long hindwing tails.

Description The comet moth has large yellow wings with magenta patterns by the head, at the tips and outer margin of the forewings, the top and bottom of the hindwings, and the stem of the hindwing tails. Furthermore, the top edge of the forewings, outer edge of the hindwings, and both sides of the tail are outlined in black. Each of the hindwings and the forewings have large magenta and orange eyespots also outlined in black. The final touch on the wings are white accents by the head and in the eyespots. The body of the comet moth is yellow or a yellow-orange with the top of the legs matching then fading to black. They also have orange antennae.

Females have more rounded wings and larger bodies for egg laying

Average male wingspan: 20 cm (≈7.9 in)

Average male tail span of 15 cm (≈5.9 in)

The males have a longer, more feathery antennas than the females to pick up mating pheromones

Males have longer, thinner tails while females have shorter, thicker ones

Diet and Habitat This moth’s diet and host plants include the smoke tree, the marula tree, the Brazilian peppertree, and the cider gum tree. Most sources say adult moths do not feed because of their inability to use their shrunken mouths. Comet moths are native to Madagascar and nowhere else in the world. Their natural habitat are the Madagascan rainforests. However, they can and have been bred in captivity. Today due to habitat loss, their range is limited to the rainforests located south and east of Madagascar’s capital.

Mating Female moths release and pheromone to attract male mates, who fly to find them. After mating, the females lay 120 to 170 eggs on the host plants that will hatch into caterpillars in 10 to 20 days.

Predators Chameleons, geckos, bats, and birds prey on comet moths. To combat this, the comet moth uses its colors to camouflage itself. Additionally, it uses its long tails to mess with a bat’s echolocation and cause it to attack the tails instead of the moth’s vulnerable body. Furthermore, this species has the ability to use ultrasound absorption so the bat’s echo will come back fainter, and the moth is harder to “see.”Finally, the wing’s eyespots are used to fool predators into thinking the comet moth is a more dangerous animal. The largest current threat to comet moths are humans, and this moth is now endangered sure to habitat loss.

Fun Fact This moth used to be on the 1000 Malagasy ariary banknote.

(Source: Wikipedia, AZ Animals, Natural History Museum UK, The Company of Biologists, Moth Identification)

Moth of the Week

Isabella Tiger Moth

Pyrrharctia isabella

The isabella tiger moth is part of the Erebidae family and was first officially named in 1797 by James Edward Smith. The caterpillars of this moth are referred to as woolly worms, woolly bears, and banded woolly bears. In Canadian folklore, these caterpillars serve as predictors of harsh or east winters depending on their hair’s length and color.

Description The isabella tiger moth’s body and wings range from tan to yellow-orange. The hindwings are a lighter shade than the forewings with both marked by black spots and faint lines. In females, the hindwings have a pink tone. The body also has a black spotted pattern with reddish-orange forelegs. The moth’s color darkens at the head to a red-orange or brown.

Average wingspan of ≈4.35 cm (≈1.7 in)

Diet and Habitat The caterpillars eat many plants and trees such as grasses, asters, birches, clover, corn, elms, maples, milkweed and sunflowers in deciduous woodlands and prairies. Adults drink nectar from host plants. They use a proboscis, which is like a feeding tube. These moths are found in all of the United States except for the states of Alaska and Hawaii, much of Mexico, and southern Canada. The isabella tiger moth also can be found in the Arctic.

Mating The isabella tiger moth produces two generations a year in its northern range and usually a three generations in the south. In May during the evening, females let out pheromones from a scent gland from their abdomen to attract mates. Males fly in zig-zag patterns and mate with the females. Females lay clusters of 50 or more eggs on the host plants. The eggs will hatch in 5 to 12 days. The eggs hatched in the fall will give way to caterpillars that will freeze in the winter, thaw in spring, and continue the cycle.

Predators Woolly bears will curl into a ball if feeling threatened. The stiff hairs protect the caterpillar from wasps, flies, mantids, birds, and other predators, such as humans. Touching a woolly bear is discouraged because these hairs may cause dermatitis, however they are not venomous and typically don’t cause irritation.

Fun Fact Woollybear festivals are held in several locations in the fall with games, costumes, and a winter prediction.

(Source: Wikipedia, Moth Identification, BugGuide, Minnesota Seasons, iNaturalist, Iron Tree Service, Wildlife in Winter)

Moth of the Week

Fall Webworm

Hyphantria cunea

The fall webworm is in the family Erebidae. Described by Dru Dury in 1773, this moth is known for creating webbed nests as caterpillars and living in them until the pupa stage. They are considered pests in some areas due to their tendency to defoliate trees while feeding as larva and are known as an invasive species in East Asia.

Description Adult moths are mostly white in color with white legs that are black/brown and white in color. The top two legs are orange on the segment closest to the body. Under the eyes are patches of the same orange color and on occasion there are orange spots on the abdomen. In the north, the wings are completely white while in the south, the wings are speckled with brown or black spots.

Average wingspan: 38.5 mm (≈1.5 in)

Diet and Habitat The fall webworm feeds on just about any type of deciduous tree and can defoliate entire beaches or trees. In the eastern U.S., these moths prefer pecan trees, black walnut, American elm, hickory, fruit trees, persimmon, and sweetgum. In the west, alder, willow, cottonwood and fruit trees are commonly eaten. Adult moths do not feed.

This species is native to North America, ranging from Canada to Mexico, was introduced into other continents in the 1940s, and has since then spread. First recorded in 1949, this moth was introduced to the former nation of Yugoslavia and spread from France to the Caspian Sea and further into central Asia: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and southeastern Kazakhstan. When introduced to Japan in 1945, it spread to generations per year since its arrival.[5] It spread into China, southern Mongolia, Korea and southern Primorsky Krai of Russia. Now it is considered holarctic, meaning found in almost all regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Mating The mating season starts in late June and lasts until early July. In the northern part of North America, this species has one generation per year. The larvae hatch and live in late summer through early fall. In the south, which is cons to be under an approximate latitude of 40°N, there are two or more generations annually and nests appear progressively earlier the further south you go. Male fall webworms are typically only available for mating for about 30–60 minutes per day. This moth even shows a form of fall parental behavior. The female will try to protect the eggs after oviposition by covering her newly laid eggs with her abdomen hairs. Females lay the eggs on the underside of the host plants’ leaves in groups of about 100.

Predators The fall webworm has many predators such as Monomorium minimum, Vespula spp., Coleomegilla maculata, and Rogas hyphantriae.This species is parasitized by around 50 species, such as the flies Musca domestica and Muscina stabulans, and parasitic wasps such as Chouioia cunea and Therion morio. There are also several species of microsporida (unicellular spore parasites) such as Nosema necatrix Kramer, Weiser, and Nosema bombycis that are harmful. This species is also harmed by several viruses such as granulovirus and nucleopolyhedrosis virus. The caterpillars protect and defend themselves by shaking and jerking together, giving off a repellant scent, and irritants on their hairs or spines.

Fun Fact The fall webworm is a social insect as groups of caterpillars live in spun nests made from webs. These webs have many benefits like finding of mates, temperature regulation, increased growth rate, and protection from predators. However they also result in higher rates of infections and predation.

(Source: Wikipedia, USDA Forest Service, Missouri Department of Conservation)

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