''Semioptila flavidiscata'' is a
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...
in the
Himantopteridae
The Himantopteridae are a family of moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be appro ...
family. It was described by
George Hampson
Sir George Francis Hampson, 10th Baronet (14 January 1860 – 15 October 1936) was an English entomologist.
Hampson studied at Charterhouse School and Exeter College, Oxford. He travelled to India to become a tea-planter in the Nilgiri Hills ...
in 1910. It is found in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
,
Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most central point. Its neighbours are ...
and
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
.
The
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...
is about 24 mm. The head and thorax of the males are black-brown, the tegulae and fringe of the hair on the upper edge of the
patagia
The patagium (plural: patagia) is a membranous body part that assists an animal in obtaining lift when gliding or flight. The structure is found in extant and extinct groups of flying and gliding animals including bats, birds, some dromaeosaurs, ...
fulvous (tawny) orange. The abdomen is dorsally red brown, yellow at the sides and black brown below. The forewings are dark brown, thinly scaled, the veins darker. The cell is fulvous yellow, conjoined to a round spot beyond it and the inner area is fulvous yellow to the cell and vein 2. The hindwings are linear lanceolate, expanding somewhat towards the base but not towards the extremity. The basal third is fulvous yellow, the terminal two-thirds black brown. The forewings of the females have the cell and inner area paler fulvous yellow and the hindwing expand still less towards the base, the basal third is pale fulvous yellow.
Hampson G. F. 1910c. Zoological collections from Northern Rhodesia and adjacent territories: Lepidoptera Phalaenae - ''Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1910(2):388–510, pls. 36–41. p. 487
References
Moths described in 1910
Himantopteridae
{{Zygaenoidea-stub