Attacus taprobanis

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Attacus taprobanis
Attacus taprobanis-Kadavoor-2018-07-07-001.jpg
Male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Saturniidae
Genus: Attacus
Species:
A. taprobanis
Binomial name
Attacus taprobanis
Moore, 1882 [1]

Attacus taprobanis [2] is a moth of family Saturniidae. It is native to southern India and Sri Lanka. [3] This species is very similar in morphology to the much more widely distributed Attacus atlas . It was once considered a subspecies of A. atlas. [4]

Contents

Description

Attacus taprobanis is typically darker than A. atlas. The hyaline spots are slightly smaller. The hyaline streak on the forewing is smaller, and often absent in males. The wingspan about 170–220 mm, is probably the second largest after A. atlas.

Ecology

The larvae feed on various bushes and trees including Aglaia roxburghiana , Berberis asiatica , Berberis thunbergii , Berberis vulgaris , Cinnamomum , Cinnamomum camphora , Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Ligustrum . [5] Adult moths do not take foods and survive on fat they have stored from their larval period, the females sitting most calm and emitting pheromones, that the active males can notice from a distance. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Attacus atlas</i> Species of moth

Attacus atlas, the Atlas moth, is a large saturniid moth endemic to the forests of Asia. The species was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturniidae</span> Family of moths

Saturniidae, members of which are commonly named the saturniids, is a family of Lepidoptera with an estimated 2,300 described species. The family contains some of the largest species of moths in the world. Notable members include the emperor moths, royal moths, and giant silk moths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-tail</span> Species of moth

The yellow-tail, goldtail moth or swan moth is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Johann Kaspar Füssli in 1775, and has commonly been placed within the related genus Euproctis. It is distributed throughout Europe to the Urals, then east across the Palearctic to Siberia and south to India and Sri Lanka.

<i>Mycalesis patnia</i> Species of butterfly

Mycalesis patnia, the glad-eye bushbrown, is a satyrid butterfly found in southern India and Sri Lanka.

<i>Tagiades litigiosa</i> Species of butterfly

Tagiades litigiosa, the water snow flat, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae which is found in India, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar.

<i>Papilio clytia</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio clytia, the common mime, is a swallowtail butterfly found in south and southeast Asia. The butterfly belongs to the subgenus Chilasa, the black-bodied swallowtails. It serves as an excellent example of a Batesian mimic among the Indian butterflies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malaysian moon moth</span> Species of moth

The Malaysian moon moth is a Saturniid in the subfamily Saturniinae from Indomalaya. The male is purplish-brown and yellow, while the larger female is overall light green.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturniinae</span> Subfamily of moths

The Saturniinae or saturniines are a subfamily of the family Saturniidae, also known as giant silkmoths. They are commonly known as emperor moths or wild silk moths. They are easily spotted by the eyespots on the upper surface of their wings. Some exhibit realistic eye-like markings, whilst others have adapted the eyespots to form crescent moon or angular shapes or have lost their wing scales to create transparent windows. They are medium to very large moths, with adult wingspans ranging from 7.5 to 15 cm, in some cases even more. They consist of some of the largest sized Lepidoptera, such as the luna moth, atlas moth, and many more. The Saturniinae is an important source of wild silk and human food in many different cultures.

<i>Acherontia lachesis</i> Species of moth

Acherontia lachesis, the greater death's head hawkmoth or bee robber, is a large sphingid moth found in India, Sri Lanka and much of the Oriental region. It is one of the three species of death's-head hawkmoth genus, Acherontia. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1798. It is nocturnal and very fond of honey; they can mimic the scent of honey bees so that they can enter a hive unharmed to get honey. Their tongue, which is stout and very strong, enables them to pierce the wax cells and suck the honey out. This species occurs throughout almost the entire Oriental region, from India, Pakistan and Nepal to the Philippines, and from southern Japan and the southern Russian Far East to Indonesia, where it attacks colonies of several different honey bee species. It has recently become established on the Hawaiian Islands.

<i>Olene mendosa</i> Species of moth

Olene mendosa, the brown tussock moth or hairy tussock moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1823. It is found in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia.

<i>Cricula trifenestrata</i> Species of moth

Cricula trifenestrata, the cricula silkmoth, is a species of wild silk moth of the family Saturniidae. It is found from India to the Philippines, Sulawesi, Java, and Sri Lanka.

<i>Attacus</i> Genus of moths

Attacus is a genus of moths in the family Saturniidae. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae.

<i>Homona coffearia</i> Species of moth

Homona coffearia, the tea tortrix or camellia tortrix, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. The species was first described by Nietner in 1861. It is widely distributed in the Oriental region.

<i>Fascellina chromataria</i> Species of moth

Fascellina chromataria is a moth in the family Geometridae described by Francis Walker in 1860. It is found in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, India, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

<i>Antheraea paphia</i> Species of moth

Antheraea paphia, known as the South India small tussore, the tasar silkworm and vanya silkworm is a species of moth of the family Saturniidae found in India and Sri Lanka. The bulk of the literature on this species uses a junior synonym, Antheraea mylitta, rather than the correct name, A. paphia. It is one of a number of tasar silkworms, species that produce Tussar silk, a kind of wild silk that is made from the products of saturniid silkworms instead of the domesticated silkworm.

<i>Gastropacha pardale</i> Species of moth

Gastropacha pardale, the brown lapped moth, is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1855.

Antheraea cingalesa, the Sri Lankan tussar silk moth, is a moth of the family Saturniidae. The species was first described by Frederic Moore in 1883. It is endemic to Sri Lanka.

Cricula ceylonica, the Sri Lankan cricula silkmoth, is a moth of the family Saturniidae. The species was first described by Karl Jordan in 1909 and it is endemic to Sri Lanka. The debate of this species with much broader range circular species - Cricula trifenestrata is not yet fully understood. However, Rougerie et al., in 2009 considered Cricula ceylonica a valid species, probably endemic to Sri Lanka.

Selepa celtis, called the hairy caterpillar as a larva, is a moth of the family Nolidae. The species was first described by Frederic Moore in 1858. It is found in Oriental tropics of India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan towards the Ryukyu Islands and Australia.

References

  1. "Attacus taprobanis, Moore, 1882–1883". gbif.org. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  2. Moore, Frederic (1880). The Lepidoptera of Ceylon. Vol. II. London: L. Reeve & co. pp. 124–125.
  3. Peigler, Richard S. (1989). A revision of the Indo-Australian genus Attacus (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). Lepidoptera Research Foundation. ISBN   0961146427 . Retrieved 5 June 2018.
  4. Savela, Markku. "Attacus atlas (Linnaeus, 1758)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved 18 November 2018.
  5. Hosts database
  6. "Atlas Moth (Attacus taprobanis)". Biodiversity of Sri Lanka. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 4 July 2016.