Calyptra minuticornis
{{Short description|Species of moth}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Vampire moth
| image = Calyptra minuticornis.jpg
| image_caption = Dorsal view
| image2 = DSK5763 Calyptra minuticornis (26798383741).jpg
| image2_caption =
| taxon = Calyptra minuticornis
| authority = (Guenée, 1852){{LepIndex |id=283164 |accessdate=April 19, 2018}}
| synonyms =
- Calpe minuticornis Guenée, 1852
- Calpe novaepommeraniae Strand, 1919
}}
Calyptra minuticornis, the vampire moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It has been found in Indonesia, Java, India, Sri Lanka, and Australasia.{{cite journal|last=Zaspel|first=J.M.|author2=Branham, M.A. |title=World Checklist of Tribe Calpini (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Calpinae)|journal=Insecta Mundi: A Journal of World Insect Systematics|volume=0047|issue=1–15|pages=2|date=September 26, 2008|url=http://www.fsca-dpi.org/insectamundi2008/0047ZaspelandBranham.pdf |accessdate=29 August 2010}}
Description
Its wingspan is about 50 mm. The antennae of the male are minutely ciliated. Forewings with rounded outer margin.{{cite web |title=Calyptra minuticornis|url=http://www.jpmoth.org/Noctuidae/Calpinae/Calyptra_minuticornis_minuticornis.html|website=Japanese Moths |accessdate=30 August 2010|language=Japanese}} Head and thorax pale reddish brown and thickly irrorated with grey. Abdomen pale fuscous. Forewings with pale red-brown with a silvery sheen and numerous fine pale striae. There are traces of sub-basal, antemedial, and medial oblique line present. A rufous line runs from apex to inner margin beyond middle. A series of submarginal specks present. Hindwings pale fuscous and cilia whitish. Larva olive-grey with a sub-dorsal series of black-bordered yellow spots. A sub-lateral series of specks enclosed from fourth somite by a pinkish bordered black line. Head ochreous, with paired lateral black spots. Legs pale pink.{{cite book |last=Hampson |first=G. F. |authorlink=George Hampson |date=1894 |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 |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}
The caterpillar feeds on Stephania japonica, Cissampelos, Cocculus and Cyclea species. It pupates in a cocoon between joined dead leaves in ground debris. The adult is a fruit piercer and also observed to pierce skins of buffalo, zebu, tapir and even humans in labs to suck blood.{{cite web |last1=Herbison-Evans |first1=Don |last2=Crossley |first2=Stella |name-list-style=amp |date=28 February 2015 |url=http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/calp/minuticornis.html |title=Calyptra minuticornis (Guenée, 1852) Vampire Moth |website=Australian Caterpillars and their Butterflies and Moths |accessdate=13 January 2019}}{{cite web | url=http://www.mothsofborneo.com/part-15-16/calpini/calpini_1_1.php | title=Calyptra minuticornis Guenée | website=The Moths of Borneo | accessdate=18 August 2016}}