Actias

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Actias
Actias luna

Actias luna

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Peacock moth (Saturniidae)
Subfamily : Saturniinae
Genre : Actias
Scientific name
Actias
Leach , 1815
Actias maenas
Actias selene caterpillar in the fourth instar.

Actias is a genus of butterflies from the family of the peacock moth (Saturniidae). The Natural History Museum's Global Lepidoptera Names Indexlists 11 species in this genus. The similarity of the species of this genus is very great and hybrids can arise in breeding. In India there are natural hybrids between Actias luna and Actias selene .

features

The large moths are characterized by long tails on the hind wings. In all species there is also a conspicuous discal eye-spot on both pairs of wings. Most species have a pale green base color. Both the males and the females have double-pinnate antennae , with those of the males having longer pinnate bristles. Otherwise the sexual dimorphism is not very pronounced. The species in the genus are quite similar.

The caterpillars differ noticeably between the species in the last stage. There are species, such as Actias luna , in which the tubercles on the body have receded into flat cusps, whereas species such as Actias selene have conspicuously large scoli on their backs that are reminiscent of those of the genus Hyalophora .

Occurrence and way of life

The genus occurs mainly in Asia, but Actias luna is common in eastern North America and Actias truncatipennis in Mexico. Pupation takes place in a cocoon with a simple wall, which is spun between leaves and plant remains. It is irregular and ovoid.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Natural History Museum's Global Lepidoptera Names Index lists the following species in the genus:

supporting documents

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b The Global Lepidoptera Names Index - Actias  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.nhm.ac.uk  
  2. ↑ a b c d P. M. Tuskes, JP Tuttle, MM Collins: The Wild Silkmoths of North America. A Natural History of the Saturniidae of the United States and Canada . Ed .: George C. Eickwort. 1st edition. Cornell University Press, Ithaca / London 1996, ISBN 0-8014-3130-1 , pp. 182 (English).

literature

  • PM Tuskes, JP Tuttle, MM Collins: The Wild Silkmoths of North America. A Natural History of the Saturniidae of the United States and Canada . Ed .: George C. Eickwort. 1st edition. Cornell University Press, Ithaca / London 1996, ISBN 0-8014-3130-1 (English).

Web links

Commons : Actias  - collection of images, videos and audio files