''Reissita simonyi'', the Arabian burnet moth, is a species of diurnal moth of the

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 ...

family. It is the only species from the genus ''Reissita'', and native to the southern part of the

Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

. It resembles some species from the related genus ''

Zygaena ''Zygaena'' is a genus of moths in the family Zygaenidae. These brightly coloured, day-flying moths are native to the West Palearctic. Description Adalbert Seitz described them thus: "Small, stout, black insects, sometimes with metallic gloss. ...

'', and like them ''Reissita simonyi'' is toxic because it is able to biosynthesize

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 ...

. The larvae feed on ''

Maytenus ''Maytenus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Celastraceae. Members of the genus are distributed throughout Central America, Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Micronesia, and Australasia, the Indian Ocean and Africa. They gr ...

'', specifically '' M. dhofarensis'' and '' M. senegalensis''. It has two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

: * ''R. s. simonyi'' at altitudes of in

Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Oman’s coastline ...

and eastern

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. Blackish with a bluish sheen and red spots. * ''R. s. yemenicola'' at altitudes of in western Yemen and southwestern

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. Smaller than previous, and blackish with a greenish-blue sheen and red spots, or all red (some males only).

References

''Reissita'' at funet.fi
* Klütsch, C. F. C. (2006).
Evolutionary history of Southern Arabian faunal elements with a special focus on habitat fragmentation of two model organisms, Reissita simonyi (REBEL, 1899; Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae) and Hyla savignyi (AUDOUIN, 1827; Amphibia: Hylidae).
' Ph.D. dissertation,

University of Bonn The University of Bonn, officially the Rhenish Friedrich Wilhelm University of Bonn (), is a public research university in Bonn, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in its present form as the () on 18 October 1818 by Frederick Willi ...

. Zygaeninae Monotypic moth genera Zygaenidae genera Moths of Asia {{Zygaenidae-stub