Horama panthalon
| Horama panthalon | ||||||||||||
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Horama panthalon |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Horama panthalon | ||||||||||||
| ( Fabricius , 1793) |
Horama panthalon , originally described as Zygaena panthalon , is a butterfly from the subfamily of the bear moth (Arctiinae)found in North, Central and South America.
features
butterfly
Horama panthalon has a wingspan of 32 to 34 millimeters. The wings are narrow, elongated and dark brown to black in color without drawing. The abdomen is black to blue-black and has many yellow to orange-yellow rings. The thorax shows conspicuous yellowish markings. On the black hind legs of the males, bushy orange-yellow and black hairs stand out clearly on the tibia . In both sexes the black antennae at the tips are yellowish in color. The proboscis is well developed.
mimicry
In their overall appearance, the adults of Horama panthalon resemble some Polistesarten , a genus from the field wasp family , which is to be understood as mimicry . This is the "protective mimicry", whereby potential predators are to be deterred by imitating defensive models. In the present case, the preferred model is Polistes crinitus .
Similar species
Horama plumipes is distinguished by the black and white ringed abdomen, the thorax with white dotsand the black hair on the tibia .
Occurrence and subspecies
Horama panthalon occurs in three subspecies in North, Central and South America:
- Horama panthalon panthalon on the West Indies as well as in Venezuela , Colombia and Panama ,
- Horama panthalon texanus in Texas , Florida , Arizona , Mexico , Honduras and Guatemala ,
- Horama panthalon viridifusa in Brazil , Argentina , Paraguay and Bolivia .
Way of life
The diurnal moths fly all year round, mainly in November. They like to visit different flowers to take in nectar. Details on the species' way of life have yet to be researched.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Markku Savela: Distribution and subspecies. In: Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Retrieved March 13, 2020 .
- ↑ Horama plumipes for comparison
- ↑ inaturalist.org flight time and photos
Web links
- BugGuide - Iowa State University information
- butterfliesandmoths - Butterflies and Moths of North America