Arctiinae
Arctiinae | |
---|---|
Harnessed tiger moth Apantesis phalerata | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
Family: | Erebidae |
Subfamily: | Arctiinae Leach, 1815 |
Type species | |
Diversity | |
1,400–1,500 genera Approximately 11,000 species |
The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species.[1] This subfamily includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths (or tigers), which usually have bright colours, footmen, which are usually much drabber, lichen moths, and wasp moths. Many species have "hairy" caterpillars that are popularly known as woolly bears or woolly worms. The scientific name Arctiinae refers to this hairiness (Gk. αρκτος = a bear). Some species within the Arctiinae have the word "tussock"' in their common names because they have been misidentified as members of the Lymantriinae subfamily based on the characteristics of the larvae.
Taxonomy
The subfamily was previously classified as the family Arctiidae of the superfamily
Taxon rank | Former classification | Current classification |
---|---|---|
Superfamily | Noctuoidea | Noctuoidea |
Family | Arctiidae | Erebidae |
Subfamily | Arctiinae, Syntominae
|
Arctiinae |
Tribe | Arctiini, Ctenuchini, Eudesmiini, Lithosiini, etc. | Arctiini, Lithosiini, Syntomini
|
Subtribe | — | Eudesmiina, Lithosiina , etc.
|
Genus | Many genera | Names and rank not changed |
Species | Many species | Names and rank not changed |
Taxa of the same background color represent the same group of species before and after its lowering of taxonomic rank, despite the change of suffixes. |
Tribes (former subfamilies)
Many genera are classified into these tribes, while others remain unclassified (incertae sedis).
- Arctiini
- Lithosiini
- Syntomini
Description
The most distinctive feature of the subfamily is a tymbal organ on the metathorax.[1] This organ has membranes that are vibrated to produce ultrasonic sounds. They also have thoracic tympanal organs for hearing, a trait with a fairly broad distribution in the Lepidoptera, but the location and structure is distinctive to the subfamily. Other distinctive traits are particular setae (hairs) on the larvae, wing venation, and a pair of glands near the ovipositor.[1] The sounds are used in mating[5] and for defense against predators.[6] Another good distinguishing character of the subfamily is presence of anal glands in females.[7]
Aposematism
Many species retain distasteful or poisonous chemicals acquired from their host plants.
The insects advertise these defenses with aposematic bright coloration, unusual postures, odours, or in adults, ultrasonic vibrations. Some mimic moths that are poisonous or wasps that sting.[10] The ultrasound signals help nocturnal predators to learn to avoid the moths,[11][12] and for some species can jam bat echolocation.
Behavior and life cycle
Many of the caterpillars and adults are active during the daytime, but most species of this taxon are night-flying. Moths are attracted by light, but one species,
If disturbed, woolly bear caterpillars roll into a tight spiral or drop from their perch suspended by a strand of silk. Isabella tiger moths (Pyrrharctia isabella) overwinter in the caterpillar stage. They can survive freezing at moderate subzero temperatures by producing a cryoprotectant chemical.[13] The larvae of another species, Phragmatobia fuliginosa, may be found on snow seeking a place to pupate. Species in Arctic and temperate belts overwinter in the larval stage.
Some tiger moths produce ultrasonic clicks in response to the echolocation of bats to protect themselves.
Many species are polyphagous in the larval stage. Monophagous species, such as the cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae), are scarce.
Although abundant, few species in this subfamily are of economic importance. Even the fall webworm, an abundant and highly polyphagous tree-feeding species that has spread from North America to Asia and Europe, does not do lasting damage to healthy hosts.
Folklore
Local
Notable species
- Pale tiger moth, Halysidota tessellaris
- Banded woolly bear or Isabella tiger moth, Pyrrharctia isabella
- Buff ermine, Spilarctia lutea
- Cinnabar moth, Tyria jacobaeae
- Common footman, Manulea lurideola
- Dogbane tiger moth or delicate cycnia, Cycnia tenera
- Fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea
- Garden tiger moth, Arctia caja
- Grote's Bertholdia, Bertholdia trigona
- Giant leopard moth, Hypercompe scribonia
- Hickory tiger moth, Lophocampa caryae
- Jersey tiger moth, Euplagia quadripunctaria
- Milkweed tiger moth, Euchaetes egle
- Scarlet tiger moth, Callimorpha dominula
- Maltese ruby tiger moth, Phragmatobia fuliginosa ssp. melitensis
- Ornate moth, Utetheisa ornatrix
- Muxta, Muxta xanthopa
Gallery
-
Grammia parthenice
-
Giant leopard mothHypercompe scribonia
-
Final instar of Euchaetes egle
-
Platyprepia virginalis, caterpillar
-
Apantesis arge, caterpillar
-
Halysidota tessellaris, cocoon
See also
- List of arctiine genera
References
- ^ a b c Scoble, MJ. (1995). The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity. Second ed. Oxford University Press.
- ^ Fibiger, Michael; Hacker, Hermann (June 29, 2005). "Systematic List of the Noctuoidea of Europe (Notodontidae, Nolidae, Arctiidae, Lymantriidae, Erebidae, Micronoctuidae, and Noctuidae)". Esperlana. 11: 93–205.
- S2CID 84249695.
- .
- S2CID 29457006.
- PMID 7964403.
- ^ Holloway JD. (1988). The Moths of Borneo 6: Family Arctiidae.
- ^ .
- PMID 11729069.
- PMID 12028753.
- S2CID 12047544.
- S2CID 18306198.
- PMID 10684559.
- ^ "Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog : Forecast for the winter of 2005-2006:: Part I, the woolly bears | Weather Underground". www.wunderground.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
- ^ Wagner, DL. (2005). Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press.
Other references
- Bates, DL; Fenton, MB (1990). "Aposematism or startle? Predators learn their responses to the defenses of prey". Can J Zool. 68: 49–52. doi:10.1139/z90-009.
- Dunning, DC; Krüger, M (1995). "Aposematic sounds in African moths". Biotropica. 27 (2): 227–231. JSTOR 2388998.
- Dunning, DC; Acharya, L; Merriman, CB; Ferro, LD (1992). "Interactions between bats and arctiid moths". Can J Zool. 70 (11): 2218–2223. doi:10.1139/z92-298.
- Fullard, JH; Fenton, MB; Simmons, JA (1979). "Jamming bat echolocation: the clicks of arctiid moths". Can J Zool. 57 (3): 647–649. doi:10.1139/z79-076.
- Science Fridays: Moths Can Escape Bats By Jamming Sonar
Main species catalogs
- Dubatolov, VV (2010). "Tiger-moths of Eurasia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) (Nyctemerini by Rob de Vos & Vladimir V. Dubatolov)". Neue Entomologische Nachrichten. 65: 1–106.
- Edwards, ED (1996). "Arctiidae". Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera. 4 (278–286): 368–370.
- Ferguson, DC; Opler, PA (2006). "Checklist of the Arctiidae (Lepidoptera: Insecta) of the continental United States and Canada". Zootaxa. 1299: 1–33. .
- Goodger DT, Watson A. (1995). The Afrotropical Tiger-Moths. An illustrated catalogue, with generic diagnosis and species distribution, of the Afrotropical Arctiinae (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae). Apollo Books Aps.: Denmark, 55 pp.
- Watson, A (1971). "An illustrated Catalog of the Neotropic Arctiinae type in the United States National Museum (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) Part 1". Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 50 (50): 1–361. .
- Watson, A; Goodger, DT (1986). "Catalogue of the Neotropical Tiger-moths". Occasional Papers on Systematic Entomology. 1: 1–71.
Phylogenetic analyses
- Da Costa, MA; Weller, SJ (2005). "Phylogeny and classification of Callimorphini (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae: Arctiinae)". Zootaxa. 1025: 1–94. .
- Dubatolov VV (2006) Cladogenesis of tiger-moths of the subfamily Arctiinae: development of a cladogenetic model of the tribe Callimorphini (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) by the SYNAP method. Euroasian Entomological Journal 5(2):95–104 (in Russian).
- Dubatolov VV (2008) Construction of the phylogenetic model for the genera of the tribe Arctiini (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) with the SYNAP method. Entomological Review 88(7):833-837. Translated from: Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 87(3):653–658
- Dubatolov VV (2009) Development of a phylogenetic model for the tribe Micrarctiini (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) by the SYNAP method. Entomological Review 89(3):306–313. Translated from: Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. 88(4):438–445
- Dowdy, NJ; Keating, SK; Lemmon, AR; Lemmon, EM; Conner, WE; Scott Chialvo, CH; Weller, SJ; Simmons, RB; Sisson, MS; Zaspel, JM (2020). "A deeper meaning for shallow-level phylogenomic studies: nested anchored hybrid enrichment offers great promise for resolving the tiger moth tree of life (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae)". Systematic Entomology. 45 (4): 874–893. S2CID 218787287.
- Jacobson NL, Weller SJ (2002) A cladistic study of the Arctiidae (Lepidoptera) by using characters of immatures and adults. Thomas Say publications in entomology. Entomological Society of America | Lanham, Maryland, 98 pp.
Distribution analyses
- Dubatolov, VV (2008). "Analysis of Insect Distribution in the Northern Hemisphere by the Example of the Subfamily Arctiinae (Lepidoptera, Artctiidae)". Contemporary Problems of Ecology. 1 (2): 183–193, 194–203. S2CID 34805999.
Further reading
- William Conner (ed.). (2009). Tiger moths and woolly bears : behavior, ecology, and evolution of the Arctiidae. ISBN 978-0-19-532737-3
External links
- Family "Family Arctiidae". Insecta.pro.
- Belize Arctiidae Digital colour "plates"
- Jamaica Arctiidae Digital colour "plates"
- Digital images of Neotropical Arctiidae and Geometridae
- SZM Digital images
- "Nais Tiger Moth Apantesis nais (Drury, 1773)". Butterflies and Moths of North America.
- on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
- Beattyville Woolly Worm Festival 2012 Site