Nine-spotted moth
{{short description|Species of moth}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Nine-spotted moth
| image = Amata phegea.jpg
| image_caption = Male
| image2 = Arctiidae - Amata phegea (1).JPG
| image2_caption = Female, ventral view
| taxon = Amata phegea
| authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)
| synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true
|Sphinx phegea Linnaeus, 1758
|Syntomis phegea (Linnaeus, 1758)
|Sphinx ligata Allioni, 1766
|Zygaena quercus Fabricius, 1793
|Sphinx iphimedia Esper, [1804]
|Spinx cloelia Esper, 1783
|Spinx cloelia Esper, [1804]
|Syntomis phegea bessarabica Stauder, 1924
|Amata phegea bessarabica nat. kijevana Obraztsov, 1936
|Amata (Syntomis) phegea phegea nat. ukrainica Obraztsov, 1966
|Syntomis phegea orientalis Daniel, 1950
}}}}
The nine-spotted moth or yellow belted burnet (Amata phegea, formerly Syntomis phegea) is a moth in the family Erebidae ("tiger moths"). The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.[https://www.biolib.cz/en/taxon/id54841/ BioLib]
Distribution and habitat
The nine-spotted moth is chiefly found in southern Europe but also seen up to northern Germany, and in the east to Anatolia and the Caucasus,[https://web.archive.org/web/20160304001946/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=446950 Fauna Europaea] and there are some populations in the south-eastern Dutch nature reserves of Leudal and Meinweg. It does not breed in the United Kingdom, but it is a very rare immigrant. It is also found In india these days. The species prefers drier areas, open ranges with shrubs and trees as well as open forests and warm, sunny slopes.[http://www.naturabohemica.cz/amata-phegea/ Natura Bohemica]
Description
File: Arctiidae - Amata phegea (3).JPG pair]]
Amata phegea reaches a wingspan of {{convert|35|-|40|mm}}.{{cite web |last=Kimber |first=Ian |url=https://ukmoths.org.uk/species/amata-phegea |title=72.0343 BF2070 The Nine-spotted Amata phegea (Linnaeus, 1758) |website=UKMoths |accessdate=October 30, 2019}} Males are smaller than females and have thicker antennae. Wings are blueish black or greenish black with white spots and metallic sheen. The number and the size of spots are quite variable. Usually there are six white spots on the forewings and two or three spots on the hindwings. The body is quite long, with a yellow spot on the second segment of the abdomen. A further feature is the prominent yellow ring at the sixth segment of the abdomen. The black thread-like antennae have white tips. The caterpillars can reach a length of about {{convert|5|cm}}. They are gray black with thick dark brown, fluffy hairs that grow from small growths. The head is reddish brown.
Similar-looking moths include Amata ragazzii (Turati, 1917) and Zygaena ephialtes (Linnaeus, 1758). Z. ephialtes is in the family Zygaenidae and is unpalatable to birds. The nine-spotted moth imitates its appearance (Müllerian mimicry).Dawkins, Richard (1982). [https://books.google.com/books?id=zH8eDQAAQBAJ&dq=amata+phegea+mimicry&pg=PA62 The Extended Phenotype] Both moths are an example of aposematism.
Biology
File: Bruco di Amata phegea.png
This species has one generation per year (univoltine). Females lay eggs on a variety of herbs. The larvae hatch in early August and are polyphagous, feeding on a range of herbaceous plants (Plantago, Rumex, Galium, Gramineae, Taraxacum and other low plants).Mazzei, Paolo; Morel, Daniel & Panfili, Raniero [http://www.leps.it/indexjs.htm?SpeciesPages/SyntoPheg.htm Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa] The caterpillar hibernates in a silken nest and pupates in May in cocoons on the ground. Adults of this diurnal moth fly on warm sunny days from late May to August, depending on location.
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Bibliography
- Collectif d'entomologistes amateurs, Guide des papillons nocturnes de France, Paris, Delachaux et Niestlé, 2007, 288 p. ({{ISBN|978-2-603-01429-5}}), p. 97, n. 849
- Kükenthal, W. (Ed.), Handbuch der Zoologie [Handbook of Zoology], Band 4: Arthropoda - 2. Hälfte: Insecta - Lepidoptera, moths and butterflies, in Kristensen, N. P., Handbuch der Zoologie, Fischer, M. (Scientific Editor), Teilband/Part 35: Vol. 1: Evolution, systematics, and biogeography, Berlin, New York, Walter de Gruyter, 1999, pp. x + 491, {{ISBN|978-3-11-015704-8}}, OCLC 174380917.
- P.C. Rougeot, P. Viette, Guide des papillons nocturnes d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord, Delachaux et Niestlé, Lausanne 1978.
- Scoble, M. J., The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity, 2nd ed., London, Oxford University Press & Natural History Museum, 2011 [1992], pp. xi, 404, {{ISBN|978-0-19-854952-9}}, LCCN 92004297, OCLC 25282932.
- Stehr, F. W. (Ed.), Immature Insects, Dubuque, Iowa, Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co., 1991, pp. ix, 754, {{ISBN|978-0-8403-3702-3}}, LCCN 85081922, OCLC 13784377.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commonscat|Amata phegea}}
{{Wikispecies|Amata phegea}}
- [http://www.kolumbus.fi/silvonen/lnel/a/amaphege.htm Larvae of North-European Lepidoptera]
- [http://uahost.uantwerpen.be/vve/Checklists/Lepidoptera/Arctiidae/Aphegea.htm Lepidoptera of Belgium] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722155300/http://uahost.uantwerpen.be/vve/checklists/lepidoptera/Arctiidae/Aphegea.htm |date=2019-07-22 }}
- [http://www.pieris.ch/seiten/main.php?page=art&art=arct_phegea Butterflies & Moths of Switzerland] {{in lang|de}}
- [http://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Amata_Phegea Lepiforum e.V.]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1755105}}