''Cyclosia midamia'' is a
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
Zygaenidae
The Zygaenidae moths are a family of Lepidoptera. The majority of zygaenids are tropical, but they are nevertheless quite well represented in temperate regions. Some of the 1000 or so species are commonly known as burnet or forester moths, ofte ...
.
It is found in
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
and on
Borneo
Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
. Five subspecies recognized.
It disguises itself to resemble the
spotted blue crow. It secretes liquid
hydrogen cyanide
Hydrogen cyanide (formerly known as prussic acid) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula, formula HCN and structural formula . It is a highly toxic and flammable liquid that boiling, boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is ...
through their legs as little droplets. Though unlike the butterfly, and so many other insects, ''Cyclosia midamia'' produces its own poison made out of the chemical compound cyanide.
Subspecies
*''Cyclosia midamia alcathoe''
Jordan, 1907
*''Cyclosia midamia dolosa''
Jordan, 1907 (Java)
*''Cyclosia midamia padangana''
Jordan, 1907 (Sumatra)
*''Cyclosia midamia submaculans''
Walker, 1859 (Singapore)
*''Cyclosia midamia trepsichrois''
Butler, 1883 (Nias)
References
*
External links
jpmoth.orgsinobug
Moths described in 1853
Chalcosiinae
{{Zygaenidae-stub