Aloa lactinea

{{Short description|Species of moth}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Red costate tiger moth

| image = Aloa lactinea (Cramer, 1777).jpg

| image_caption = Side view

| image2 = Aloa lactinea (Cramer, 1777) (1).jpg

| image2_caption = Top view

| taxon = Aloa lactinea

| authority = (Cramer, 1777){{cite web |last=Savela |first=Markku |url=http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/noctuoidea/arctiidae/arctiinae/aloa/#lactinea |title=Aloa lactinea (Cramer, [1777]) |website=Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms |access-date=March 19, 2018}}

| synonyms =

  • Phalaena lactinea Cramer, 1777
  • Bombyx sanguinolenta Fabricius, 1793
  • Aloa marginata Moore, 1883
  • Rhodogastria frederici Kirby, 1892
  • Aloa sanguinolenta Moore, 1882
  • Amsacta lactinea Hampson, 1901
  • Creatonotus negritus Hampson, 1894

}}

Aloa lactinea, the red costate tiger moth, is a moth of family Erebidae. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1777. It is found in India, Japan, southern and western China,{{cite web | url=http://www.chiba-muse.or.jp/NATURAL/special/moth/Haruta_Collection/77_Arctiidae/03_Arctiinae/01_Aloa/Aloa_lactinea/Aloa_lactinea.htm | title=Aloa lactinea (Gramer) マエアカヒトリ Cat. 3332 | accessdate=23 July 2016}} Taiwan, Java, Sumatra, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and the Philippines.

Description

File:The Red Costade Tiger Moth (Aloa lactinea).jpg, Kerala, India]]

Its wingspan is about 40 mm long.{{cite web | url=http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/22665136 | title=Red Costate Tiger moth | website=Project Noah | accessdate=23 July 2016}} The abdomen is yellow. Antennae black with a scarlet basal joint. Palpi scarlet at sides, white below, the terminal joint black. Head white with a crimson line behind it. Thorax white. Wings primarily white. Forewings with a scarlet fascia along the costa. Red markings are with a deep crimson tone. The band on the head is broader. A black speck at each angle of cell present, but some absent. Hindwings with a black spot at end of cell and a sub-marginal series of four, the two towards anal angle sometimes absent. Larva black with lateral tufts of reddish-brown hair. A sub-dorsal series of scarlet spots present. Dorsal, sub-dorsal, and lateral series of black spots also present. Somites 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th with sub-lateral spots. Two spots only on the 11th somite.{{cite book |last=Hampson |first=G. F. |authorlink=George Hampson |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/180400#page/5/mode/1up |title=The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume II |publisher=Taylor and Francis |year=1894 |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}{{cite web | url=http://indiabiodiversity.org/species/show/268829 | title=Aloa lactinea |website=India Biodiversity Portal | access-date=23 July 2016}}

Ecology

The species is found in primary and secondary habitats ranging from the lowlands to montane regions.{{cite journal |last=Černý |first=Karel |date=January 3, 2011 |url=https://www.zobodat.at/pdf/ENT_0032_0029-0092.pdf |title=A review of the subfamily Arctiinae (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) from the Philippines |journal=Entomofauna |volume=32 |issue=3 |pages=29–92}} It is a minor pest. The caterpillar feeds on castor, coffee, jute, groundnut, teak, ragi, sunflower, maize, finger millet,{{cite book|last=Kalaisekar|first=A|title=Insect pests of millets: systematics, bionomics, and management|publisher=Elsevier|publication-place=London|year=2017|isbn=978-0-12-804243-4|oclc=967265246}} sweet potato, and beans.{{cite web | url=http://www.nbair.res.in/insectpests/Aloa-lactinea.php | title=Aloa lactinea (Cramer) | publisher=ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources | access-date=23 July 2016}}

References