Hypercompe scribonia
| Hypercompe scribonia | ||||||||||||
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Hypercompe scribonia |
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| Hypercompe scribonia | ||||||||||||
| ( Stoll , 1790) |
Hypercompe scribonia is a butterfly ( moth ) from the subfamily of the bear moth (Arctiinae).
features
butterfly
The moths have a wingspan of 57 to 91 millimeters. Their forewings have a basic white color, which is covered with black spots. The black spots are predominantly ring-shaped, that is, with a white core. The also white upper side of the hind wings shows only a reduced black markings. Bluish black spots stand out on the head. The thorax is orange red on the sides and has very large dark blue spots on the top. Due to its size and the pattern of spots similar to leopard , the species is referred to in English as the Giant leopard moth .
Caterpillar
The caterpillars are densely hairy black. The segment incisions stand out clearly in red. In fully grown animals, the hair is pointed and firm. It can cause skin irritation in humans.
Similar species
There is a certain similarity to the butterflies of the blue sieve ( Zeuzera pyrina ). However, this species only occurs in Europe and the moths are smaller with a wingspan of 16 to 60 millimeters. The black spots are not white, the abdomen does not show any orange-red drawing elements.
Distribution and occurrence
The species is sparsely distributed from eastern North America to Central America , but not uncommon in some areas. Since the caterpillars live on a large number of very different plants, their areas of occurrence are widely spread and they have also been detected in gardens and parks.
Way of life
The moths fly in one generation in the north and several in the south from May to September. The males like to visit artificial light sources . The caterpillars feed on the leaves of many very different plants, including: bananas ( Musa ), citrus plants ( Citrus ), maple ( Acer ), willow ( Salix ), prunus -, cabbage ( Brassica ), dandelion ( Taraxacum ) and sunflower species ( Helianthus ). As a rule, they ingest the leaves of several different plant species during development and store the toxins they have gained , so that they are inedible as caterpillars and later as moths for potential predators. Glycerin was also found in the body of the caterpillars, suggesting that the overwintering animals store this as an antifreeze to survive even very harsh winters.
Individual evidence
Web links
- eol.org - Encyclopedia of Life