The scarlet tiger moth (''Callimorpha dominula'', formerly ''Panaxia dominula'') is a colorful moth belonging to the tiger moth subfamily,
Arctiinae
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.Scoble, MJ. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and D ...
. The species was
first described by
Carl Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
in his 1758
10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''.
Subspecies
Subspecies within this species include:
* ''Callimorpha dominula dominula''
(Linnaeus, 1758) (Baltic, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, western Russia and central Europe)
* ''Callimorpha dominula lusitanica''
Staudinger, 1894 (Portugal)
* ''Callimorpha dominula pompalis''
Nitsche, 926
Year 926 ( CMXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Spring – The Italian nobles turn against King Rudolph II of Burgundy and request that Hugh of Provence, the effective rul ...
/small> (valleys of the southern Alps)
* ''Callimorpha dominula persona'' (Hübner, 1790) (Italy south of the Alps, excluding Piedmont and southern Alpine valleys)
* ''Callimorpha dominula trinacriae'' Nardelli & Giandolfo, 1996 (Sicily)
* ''Callimorpha dominula profuga'' (Goeze, 1781) (Balkans: Macedonia (Scopje); Albania; Greece; western Turkey)
* ''Callimorpha dominula rossica'' Kolenati, 1846 (Caucasus, Transcaucasia, except Talysh Mountains; north-western Iran)
* ''Callimorpha dominula philippsi'' Bartel, 1906 (Talysh Mountains, northern Iran, southern Turkmenistan)
* ''Callimorpha dominula kurdistanica'' Thomas, 1983 (south-eastern Turkey, possibly Iraq)
Distribution and habitat
This species is present in most of Europe and in the
Near East
The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...
(
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
South Caucasus
The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and West Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Armenia, ...
and northern
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
).
[ These moths prefer damp areas (]wet meadow
A wet meadow is a type of wetland with soils that are Solubility, saturated for part or all of the growing season which prevents the growth of trees and brush. Debate exists whether a wet meadow is a type of marsh or a completely separate type of ...
s, river banks, fens and marshes), but they also can be found on rocky cliffs close to the sea.["''Callimorpha'' [''Panaxia''] ''dominula'' (Linnaeus 1758) (Family Erebidae)"]
''The Ecology of Commanster''.
Description
''Callimorpha dominula'' has a wingspan of . Adults of this species are quite variable in color. The forewings usually have a metallic-green sheen on the blackish areas, with white and yellow or orange markings. Hindwings are red with three large and irregular black markings. These moths may also occur in rare color forms, one with yellow hindwings and body and one with extended black on hindwings. The thorax is black glossed with green and shows two longitudinal short yellow stripes. The abdomen is black. The scarlet tiger moth has developed mouthparts, that allow it to feed on nectar.
Biology
The imagines are active during the day in May and June. This species has a single generation. The caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
s are polyphagous. They mainly feed on comfrey
''Symphytum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the borage family, Boraginaceae, known by the common name comfrey (pronounced , from the Latin confervere to 'heal' or literally to 'boil together', referring to uses in ancient traditional medicin ...
(''Symphytum officinale''), but also on a number of other plants (''Urtica
''Urtica'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae. Many species have stinging hairs and may be called nettles or stinging nettles (the latter name applying particularly to ''Urtica dioica, U. dioica''). The generic name ''Urtica' ...
'', ''Cynoglossum
''Cynoglossum'' is a genus of small-flowered plants in the family Boraginaceae (borage family). It includes 81 species native to Eurasia, Africa, New Guinea, and Australia.
'' Cynoglossum officinale'', the common hound's-tongue, is a native of A ...
'', ''Fragaria
''Fragaria'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. There are more than 20 described species and many Hybrid plant, hybrids and cultivars. The most common strawberr ...
'', ''Fraxinus
''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some Subtropics, subtropical specie ...
'', ''Geranium
''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the gre ...
'', ''Lamium
''Lamium'' (dead-nettles) is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, of which it is the type genus. They are all herbaceous plants native to Eurasia and northern Africa, with several widely naturalised across muc ...
'', ''Lonicera
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae. The genus includes 158 species native to northern latitudes in North America, Eurasia, and North Africa. Widely known species include ...
'', ''Myosotis
''Myosotis'' ( ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Boraginaceae. The name comes from the Ancient Greek "mouse's ear", which the foliage is thought to resemble. In the Northern Hemisphere, they are colloquially known as forget-me-no ...
'', ''Populus
''Populus'' is a genus of 25–30 species of deciduous flowering plants in the family Salicaceae, native to most of the Northern Hemisphere. English names variously applied to different species include poplar (), aspen, and cottonwood.
The we ...
'', ''Prunus
''Prunus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs from the family (biology), family Rosaceae. The genus includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds (collectively Drupe, stonefruit). The genus has a cosm ...
'', ''Ranunculus
''Ranunculus'' is a large genus of about 1750 species of flowering plants in the family Ranunculaceae. Members of the genus are known as buttercups, spearworts and water crowfoots.
The genus is distributed worldwide, primarily in temperate an ...
'', ''Rubus
''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. ...
'', ''Salix
Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions.
Most species are known ...
'' and ''Ulmus
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus ''Ulmus'' in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical- montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ...
'' species).[
The three morphs occurring in the population at the Cothill reserve in ]Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...
, Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
, have been the subject of considerable genetic study (McNamara 1998), including research by E. B. Ford, Ronald Fisher
Sir Ronald Aylmer Fisher (17 February 1890 – 29 July 1962) was a British polymath who was active as a mathematician, statistician, biologist, geneticist, and academic. For his work in statistics, he has been described as "a genius who a ...
and Denis Owen. Don McNamara (1998) describes how amateurs can rear this species.[McNamara, Don (1998)]
"Notes on rearing the Scarlet Tiger moth ''Callimorpha dominula'' (L.)"
''Amateur Entomologists' Society''.
Gallery
File:Callimorpha dominula eggs.jpg, Eggs
File:Arctiidae - Callimorpha dominula-2.JPG, Caterpillar
File:Callimorpha dominula chrysalis.jpg, Chrysalis
File:Arctiidae - Callimorpha dominula.JPG, Imago
Bibliography
* Dubatolov, V. V. (2010) "Tiger-moths of Eurasia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) (Nyctemerini by Rob de Vos & Vladimir V. Dubatolov)". ''Neue Entomologische Nachrichten''. 65: 1–106.
* Fisher, R. A. & Ford, E. B. (1947)
"The spread of a gene in natural conditions in a colony of the moth ''Panaxia dominula'' L."
''Heredity''. 1: 143–174.
* Fisher, R. A. & Ford, E. B. (1950). "The 'Sewall Wright' effect". ''Heredity''. 4: 117–119.
* Ford, E. B. & Sheppard, P. M. (1969). "The medionigra polymorphism of ''Panaxia dominula''". ''Heredity''. 24: 112–134.
* Kettlewell, H. B. D. (1943). "A survey of the insect ''Panaxia'' (''Callimorpha'') ''dominula'', L.". ''Proceedings of the South London Entomological and Natural History Society''. 1942-43 (pt. 1): 1-49, pl. I-IV, IVa.
* Kettlewell, H. B. D. (1943) "Original descriptions of new forms of ''Panaxia (Callimorpha) dominula'', L., and ''Panaxia rossica'', Kolenati". ''The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation''. 55: 45–48.
* Nardelli, U. & Giandolfo, B. (1996). "Anmerkungen uber die siziliansche Population von ''Callimorpha dominula'' L. mit Bschreibung einer neuen Untrart (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)" bservations on the population of ''Callimorpha dominula'' L. from Sicily, with description of a new subspecies (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) ''Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins, Apollo, N.F.'' 17 (3): 283–299.
* Sheppard, P. M. (1951). "A quantitive study of two populations of the moth ''Panaxia dominula'' (L.)". ''Heredity''. 5: 349–378.
* Sheppard, P. M. (1952). "A note on non-random mating in the moth ''Panaxia dominula'' L.". ''Heredity''. 5 349–378.
* Sheppard, P. M. & Cook, L. M. (1962). "The manifold effects of the medionigra gene of the moth ''Panaxia dominula'' and the maintenance of polymorphism". ''Heredity''. 17: 415–426.
* Wright, S. (1948). "On the roles of directed and random changes in the frequency of genetics of populations". ''Evolution''. 2: 279–294.
* Thomas, W. (1983) "Eine neue ''Callimorpha dominula'' – Unterart aus der Osttürkei (Lep.: Arctiidae)". ''Entomologische Zeitschrift''. 93 (8): 107–110. the animals are colorful
References
External links
"10603 ''Callimorpha dominula'' (Linnaeus, 1758) - Schönbär"
''Lepiforum e.V.''
''Portal für Schmetterlinge und Raupen''.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1478584
Callimorphina
Moths described in 1758
Moths of Europe
Moths of Asia
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus