''Apantesis incorrupta'' is an arctiine

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

in the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family (biology), family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwin ...

, described by Henry Edwards in 1881. It is found from southern

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and south-eastern

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south through

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and western

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into

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and west to south-eastern

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. The habitat consists of grasslands and open woodlands. The length of the forewings is about 18.6 mm. The hindwings are pink to yellowish pink. There are two generations per year with adults on wing from late April to early October. The larvae feed on a wide range of herbaceous, flowering plants, including '' Fallugia paradoxa''. Recent research has shown that the larvae of ''Grammia incorrupta'' consume

alkaloid Alkaloids are a broad class of natural product, naturally occurring organic compounds that contain at least one nitrogen atom. Some synthetic compounds of similar structure may also be termed alkaloids. Alkaloids are produced by a large varie ...

-laden leaves that help fight off internal parasitic fly larvae. This phenomenon is said to be "the first clear demonstration of self-medication among insects". This species was formerly a member of the genus ''Grammia'', but was moved to ''Apantesis'' along with the other species of the genera ''Grammia'', ''Holarctia'', and ''Notarctia''.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q15636472 Arctiina Moths described in 1881