''Nyctemera'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
tiger moth
The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...
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 ...
first described by
Jacob Hübner
Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826, in Augsburg) was a German entomologist. He was the author of ''Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge'' (1796–1805), a founding work of entomology.
Scientific career
Hübner was the author of '' ...
in 1820. The genus includes the species ''
Nyctemera annulata'' and ''
Nyctemera amica'', which are closely related and are able to
interbreed
In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different variety (botany), varieties, subspecies, species or genus, genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has gene ...
.
Description
They are medium-sized
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 ...
s, the adults having a wingspan of . The wings are usually dark with lighter patches, while the body is often
aposematic
Aposematism is the Advertising in biology, advertising by an animal, whether terrestrial or marine, to potential predation, predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defenses which make the pr ...
ally coloured to discourage birds and other visual predators from eating them.
Palpi porrectly upturned. Antennae bipectinate in both sexes, where branches short in females. Forewing with vein 3 from before the angle of cell, vein 5 from above it and vein 6 from upper angle. Vein 7 and 10 from short areole which is formed by the anastomosis of veins 8 and 9. Hindwings with vein 3 from before end of cell and vein 5 from angle or from above it. Veins 6 and 7 stalked or from upper angle. Vein 8 from before middle of all.
Ecology
The slow-flying moths can often be seen feeding at
flower
Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s; it is common around its preferred food plants of the
daisy family
Asteraceae () is a large family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchidaceae, and which is the larger fam ...
, for example
groundsel (and other ''
Senecio
''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels.
Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants.
Description
Mo ...
'' spp.), ragworts and ''
Cineraria
''Cineraria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family, native primarily to southern Africa with a few species further north. The genus includes herbaceous plants and small subshrubs.
In the past, the genus was commonly viewed in ...
''. The colourful hairy
larva
A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
e feed openly on the plants, often stripping off all the leaves. The mature larvae will sometimes wander from the plant to pupate. The loosely spun
cocoon incorporates some of the larval hairs and may also be found amongst leaves.
Taxonomy
Several
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
formerly placed here are now assigned to other genera. These include ''
Utetheisa
__NOTOC__
''Utetheisa'' is a genus of Arctiinae (moth), tiger moths in the family Erebidae. The genus was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1819.
Description
Palpi porrect (extending forward), extending beyond the frons. Antennae ciliated. For ...
'' (containing ''Atasca'', ''Pitasila'' and ''Raanya'', erstwhile subgenera of ''Nyctemera''), the revalidated ''
Chiromachla'', ''
Podomachla'' and ''
Xylecata'', and the newly established ''
Afronyctemera''.
File:Magpie Moth.jpg, Magpie moth ('' Nyctemera secundiana'') found in central Queensland, Australia
File:Nyctemera annulata caterpillar.png, Magpie moth ('' Nyctemera annulata'') caterpillar feeding on ragwort in Wellington, New Zealand
File:Magpie_moth_caterpillar-08.jpg, Magpie moth ('' Nyctemera annulata'') cocoon
File:Nyctemera_coleta_-_Mindanao,_Philippines.jpg, Marbled white moth ('' Nyctemera coleta'') from the Philippines
Species
Subgenus ''Arctata'' Roepke, 1949
*''
Nyctemera angustipenis''
*''
Nyctemera arctata''
*''
Nyctemera montata''
*''
Nyctemera browni''
*''
Nyctemera consobriniformis''
*''
Nyctemera gratia''
*''
Nyctemera hyalina''
*''
Nyctemera kinabaluensis''
*''
Nyctemera kishidai''
*''
Nyctemera lunulata''
*''
Nyctemera luzonensis''
*''
Nyctemera owadai''
*''
Nyctemera palawanica''
*''
Nyctemera robusta''
*''
Nyctemera toxopei''
*''
Nyctemera undulata''
Subgenus ''Coleta'' Roepke, 1949
*''
Nyctemera coleta''
*''
Nyctemera groenendaeli''
Subgenus ''Deilemera'' Hübner, 820 1816
*''
Nyctemera carissima''
*''
Nyctemera evergista''
*''
Nyctemera gerra''
*''
Nyctemera luzonica''
*''
Nyctemera maculata''
*''
Nyctemera muelleri''
*''
Nyctemera swinhoei''
Subgenus ''Luctuosana'' de Vos, 2010
*''
Nyctemera contrasta''
*''
Nyctemera dentifascia''
*''
Nyctemera herklotsii''
*''
Nyctemera luctuosa''
*''
Nyctemera ludekingii''
*''
Nyctemera simulatrix''
Subgenus ''Nyctemera'' s.str.
*''
Nyctemera amicus''
*''
Nyctemera annulata''
*''
Nyctemera baulus''
*''
Nyctemera cenis''
*''
Nyctemera kala''
*''
Nyctemera kebeae''
*''
Nyctemera lacticinia''
*''
Nyctemera latemarginata''
*''
Nyctemera latistriga''
*''
Nyctemera mastrigti''
*''
Nyctemera obtusa''
*''
Nyctemera pagenstecheri''
*''
Nyctemera pseudokala''
*''
Nyctemera sonticum''
*''
Nyctemera warmasina''
The ''Nyctemera'' (''Nyctemera'') ''clathrata'' species group
*''
Nyctemera clathratum''
*''
Nyctemera dauila''
*''
Nyctemera giloloensis''
*''
Nyctemera latimargo''
*''
Nyctemera leopoldi''
*''
Nyctemera mesolychna''
*''
Nyctemera oninica''
Subgenus ''Orphanos'' Hübner,
825
__NOTOC__
Year 825 (Roman numerals, DCCCXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
India
* A group of Persio-Assyrian adherents of the Church of the East, under the leadership of two Persian bis ...
1816
*''
Nyctemera adversata''
*''
Nyctemera apensis''
*''
Nyctemera calcicola''
*''
Nyctemera clarior''
*''
Nyctemera distincta''
*''
Nyctemera kiauensis''
*''
Nyctemera kinibalina''
*''
Nyctemera lugens''
*''
Nyctemera malaccana''
*''
Nyctemera ploesslo''
*''
Nyctemera popiya''
*''
Nyctemera radiata''
*''
Nyctemera regularis''
*''
Nyctemera sumatrensis''
*''
Nyctemera tenompoka''
*''
Nyctemera tripunctaria''
Subgenus ''Tritomera'' de Vos & Dubatolov, 2010
*''
Nyctemera trita''
Unsorted ''Nyctemera'' species
*''
Nyctemera formosana'' (mostly placed as a synonym of ''Nyctemera carissima'')
*''
Nyctemera genora''
*''
Nyctemera immitans''
*''
Nyctemera quaternarium''
Afrotropical species transferred into ''Afronyctemera'' Dubatolov, 2006
*''
Nyctemera itokina''
Afrotropical species transferred into ''Chiromachla'' Strand, 1909
*''
Nyctemera chalcosidia''
*''
Nyctemera gracilis''
*''
Nyctemera insulare''
*''
Nyctemera leuconoe''
*''
Nyctemera pallescens''
*''
Nyctemera perspicua''
*''
Nyctemera restrictum''
*''
Nyctemera seychellensis''
*''
Nyctemera torbeni''
*''
Nyctemera transitella''
Afrotropical species transferred into ''Podomachla'' Strand, 1909
*''
Nyctemera acraeina''
*''
Nyctemera antinorii''
*''
Nyctemera apicalis''
*''
Nyctemera arieticornis''
*''
Nyctemera chromis''
*''
Nyctemera insularis''
*''
Nyctemera usambarae''
*''
Nyctemera virgo''
Afrotropical species transferred into ''Xylecata'' Swinhoe, 1904
*''
Nyctemera biformis''
*''
Nyctemera crassiantennata''
*''
Nyctemera druna''
*''
Nyctemera glauce''
*''
Nyctemera hemixantha''
*''
Nyctemera rattrayi''
*''
Nyctemera ugandicola''
*''
Nyctemera uniformis''
*''
Nyctemera xanthura''
Main articles on ''Nyctemera'' taxonomy
* 1994
995
Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Japan
* 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies.
* 3 June: Fujiwara no Michikane gains power and becomes Rege ...
''Nyctemera groenendaeli'' spec. nov. from New Guinea (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerina). ''Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F.'' 15 (4): 481–489.
* 1995: A revision of ''Nyctemera consobrina'' (Hopffer, 1874) with redescription of three subspecies (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae). ''Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F.'' 16 (1): 81–93.
* 1996: ''Nyctemera pseudokala'' sp. nov. and ''N. mastrigti'' sp. nov., two new species from Indonesia (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae). ''Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F.'' 17 (3): 301–311.
* 1997: A revision of ''Nyctemera kebeae'' (Bethune-Baker, 1904) (with descriptions of two new subspecies) and ''N. warmasina'' (Bethune-Baker, 1910) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae). ''Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F.'' 18 (1): 1-12.
* 1997: The identity of ''Nyctemera simulatrix'' Walker, 1864 (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae). ''Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F.'' 18 (2-3): 205–210.
* 2002: Revision of the ''Nyctemera evergista'' group (=subgenus ''Deilemera'' Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Arctiinae, Nyctemerini). ''Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F.'' 23 (1/2): 7-32.
* 2007: Revision of the ''Nyctemera clathratum'' complex (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae). ''Tijdschrift voor Entomologie'' 150: 39–54.
* 2007: The ''Utetheisa'' species of the subgenera ''Pitasila, Atasca'' and ''Raanya'' subgen. n. (Insecta, Lepidoptera: Arctiidae). ''Aldrovandia'' 3: 31-120.
*
* 2010: Nyctemerini. ''In'': , Tiger-moths of Eurasia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). ''Neue Entomologische Nachrichten'' 65: 11–18.
* 2006: On the generic status of the Afrotropical ''Nyctemera'' species (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). ''Atalanta'' 37 (1/2): 191–205.
References
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar , from=Q602790
Nyctemerina
Moth genera