Calyptra (moth)

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Calyptra
Calyptra orthograpta (28676129685).jpg
Calyptra orthograpta
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Tribe: Calpini
Genus: Calyptra
Ochsenheimer, 1816
Synonyms
  • CalpeTreitschke, 1825
  • CulastaMoore, 1881
  • HypocalpeButler, 1883
  • PercalpeBerio, 1956

The genus Calyptra is a group of moths in subfamily Calpinae of the family Erebidae. They are a member of the Calpini tribe, whose precise circumscription is uncertain but which includes a number of other fruit-piercing or eye-frequenting genera currently classified in Calpinae. [1]

Contents

Etymology

The common name of many of these species, vampire moth, refers to the habit that they have of drinking blood from vertebrates. According to a recent study, some of them ( C. thalictri ) are even capable of drinking human blood through skin. [2] [3] However, the moths are not thought to cause any threat to humans. [4]

Some species of this genus have been classified with genus name Calpe, and they include more than one blood-sucker.

Description

Palpi porrect (extending forward), where the second joint and third joint fringed below with very long hair. The frontal tuft is large, with the metathorax having only very slight tufts. The abdomen features coarse hair on the dorsum; the tibia is spineless, but slightly hairy. The forewings have slightly arched costa. The apex is acute, with the outer margin excurved at vein 3. The inner margin is lobed near the base and at the outer angle. The larvae of the Calyptra moth have three pairs of abdominal prolegs. [5]

Habitat

The Calyptra moth has been observed as changing its habitat in recent years; the species Calyptra thalictri was originally native to Malaysia, the Urals and southern Europe, [6] but has been found in northern Europe. In 2000, they were observed in Finland and in 2008 they were seen further west in Sweden. The Swedish observation was in Skutskär, north of the capital of Stockholm, [4] whilst the sightings in Finland have been more numerous. It is found in southern Finland, in particular in the south east. [7]

Calyptra typically inhabits wetlands, such as ponds or lakes. They are attracted to water because it is wet and warm. They can also fly quickly and efficiently in the air, which may help them hunt for food. [8] Although they are typically inactive during the daytime, they can be active at night when it is cooler.

The moth Calyptra thalictri has been seen to be associated with the plant meadow-rue. [9]

Penetrating skin

Insects piercing the skin of mammals are familiar in creatures such as mosquitoes, but the moth uses a specially developed proboscis to penetrate the skin of animals, such as buffalo. A species in Malaysia was observed using its hollowed out proboscis which is divided into two halves. The insect rocks the proboscis from one side to the other, applying pressure until it pierces the skin. It then uses a rocking head motion to drill the tube deeper into the skin. The blood pressure of the victim supplies power to raise hooks on the proboscis to ensure the insect is not easily detached. [10] Only male moths exhibit this ability, unlike mosquitoes, where the female is the one that drinks blood.

It is thought that the moth's ability to pierce animal skin and drink blood may have sprung from an earlier ability to pierce fruit in search of juice. [4] Human skin penetrated in this way may turn red and be sore for several hours leaving an itchy rash. Despite the bite being more severe than that of a mosquito, the moths do not pose a risk to humans. [7]

Although it has been reported that moths have bitten humans in Asia, it was not until the summer of 1999 that a Russian scientist, Vladimir Kononenko, observed that this species of moth was capable of filling its stomach with human blood. [7]

Species

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosquito</span> Family of flies

Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a family of small flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word mosquito is Spanish and Portuguese for little fly. Mosquitoes have a slender segmented body, one pair of wings, three pairs of long hair-like legs, and specialized, highly elongated, piercing-sucking mouthparts. All mosquitoes drink nectar from flowers; females of some species have in addition adapted to drink blood. Evolutionary biologists view mosquitoes as micropredators, small animals that parasitise larger ones by drinking their blood without immediately killing them. Medical parasitologists view mosquitoes instead as vectors of disease, carrying protozoan parasites or bacterial or viral pathogens from one host to another.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noctuoidea</span> Superfamily of moths

Noctuoidea is the superfamily of noctuid or "owlet" moths, and has more than 70,000 described species, the largest number of any Lepidopteran superfamily. Its classification has not yet reached a satisfactory or stable state. Since the end of the 20th century, increasing availability of molecular phylogenetic data for this hugely successful radiation has led to several competing proposals for a taxonomic arrangement that correctly represents the relationships between the major lineages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mud-puddling</span> Insect feeding behaviour

Mud-puddling, or simply puddling, is a behaviour most conspicuous in butterflies, but also occurring in other animals, primarily insects. The organism seeks out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud and carrion, and suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable, conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet soil, dung or carrion. From the fluids they obtain salts and amino acids that play various roles in their physiology, ethology and ecology. This behaviour also has been seen in some other insects like the leafhoppers, e.g. the potato leafhopper, Empoasca fabae.

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

The Calpinae are a subfamily of moths in the family Erebidae described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1840. This subfamily includes many species of moths that have a pointed and barbed proboscis adapted to piercing the skins of fruit to feed on juice, and in the case of the several Calyptra species of vampire moths, to piercing the skins of mammals to feed on blood. The subfamily contains some large moths with wingspans longer than 5 cm (2 in).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calpini</span> Tribe of moths

The Calpini are a tribe of fruit-piercing moths in the family Erebidae; formerly they were included in the family Noctuidae. The proboscis of the adult moths of this tribe is pointed and barbed, allowing the moth to pierce the skin of fruit to drink the juice. The vampire moths in the genus Calyptra can pierce mammal skin to drink blood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insect mouthparts</span> Overview of mouthparts of insects

Insects have mouthparts that may vary greatly across insect species, as they are adapted to particular modes of feeding. The earliest insects had chewing mouthparts. Most specialisation of mouthparts are for piercing and sucking, and this mode of feeding has evolved a number of times independently. For example, mosquitoes and aphids both pierce and suck, though female mosquitoes feed on animal blood whereas aphids feed on plant fluids.

<i>Chiasmia nora</i> Species of moth

Chiasmia nora is a moth in the family Geometridae, described by Francis Walker in 1861. It is found in northern India, Sri Lanka, south-eastern Asia and probably throughout Sundaland.

<i>Calyptra thalictri</i> Species of moth

Calyptra thalictri is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is native to the area ranging from Japan and Korea to China and Malaysia, west through the Urals to Southern Europe, but it has recently expanded its range to northern Europe. In 2000, it was observed in Finland and in 2008 it was recorded even further west, in Sweden.

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

The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings (Catocala); litter moths (Herminiinae); tiger, lichen, and wasp moths (Arctiinae); tussock moths (Lymantriinae), including the arctic woolly bear moth ; fruit-piercing moths ; micronoctuoid moths (Micronoctuini); snout moths (Hypeninae); and zales, though many of these common names can also refer to moths outside the Erebidae. Some of the erebid moths are called owlets.

Calyptra bicolor is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in India. It has been known to feed on humans, as well as a variety of other mammals.

Calyptra eustrigata is a moth of the family Erebidae, found in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. It has been reported as exhibiting parasitic blood-sucking behavior.

Calyptra fasciata is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in India. It has been known to feed on humans, as well as a variety of other mammals.

<i>Calyptra minuticornis</i> Species of moth

Calyptra minuticornis, the vampire moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It has been found in Indonesia, Java, India, Sri Lanka, and Australasia.

Calyptra ophideroides is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in East Indies. It has been known to feed on humans, as well as a variety of other mammals.

Calyptra pseudobicolor is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in India. It has been known to feed on humans, as well as a variety of other mammals.

Calyptra parva is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in India. It has been known to feed on humans, as well as a variety of other mammals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hematophagy</span> Ecological niche involving feeding on blood

Hematophagy is the practice by certain animals of feeding on blood. Since blood is a fluid tissue rich in nutritious proteins and lipids that can be taken without great effort, hematophagy is a preferred form of feeding for many small animals, such as worms and arthropods. Some intestinal nematodes, such as Ancylostomatids, feed on blood extracted from the capillaries of the gut, and about 75 percent of all species of leeches are hematophagous. The spider Evarcha culicivora feeds indirectly on vertebrate blood by specializing on blood-filled female mosquitoes as their preferred prey. Some fish, such as lampreys and candirus; mammals, especially vampire bats; and birds, including the vampire finch, Hood mockingbird, Tristan thrush, and oxpeckers, also practise hematophagy.

Thliptoceras umoremsugente is a moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Hans Bänziger in 1987. It is found in Thailand.

<i>Sphingomorpha chlorea</i> Species of moth

Sphingomorpha chlorea, the sundowner moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae that is native to Africa and southern Asia. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1777. It is a fruit-piercing moth and a notorious pest in orchards. The fruit is pierced while performing a vertical and rhythmic movement of the head.

References

  1. ↑ Calpinae Archived September 27, 2015, at the Wayback Machine , in Wikispecies, accessed 20 October 2008
  2. ↑ article Archived July 9, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , epl.ee, Estonian, accessed 20 October 2008
  3. ↑ Picture of thumb being pierced Archived November 14, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Worlds weirdest moths, accessed 20 October 2008
  4. 1 2 3 Vampire moth turns up in Sweden Archived November 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine , Peter Vinthagen Simpson, The local, 29 July 2008, accessed 20 October 2008
  5. ↑ Hampson, G. F. (1894). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume II. Vol. Moths - Vol. II. Taylor and Francis – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  6. ↑ Vampire moth turns up in Finland Archived March 24, 2016, at the Wayback Machine , The Guardian, 4 June 2007, accessed 20 October 2008
  7. 1 2 3 Blood-sucking vampire moth becoming more common in Finland Archived August 4, 2013, at the Wayback Machine , Helsingin Sanomat, 5 June 2007, accessed 20 October 2008
  8. ↑ Lees, D. C.; Minet, J. (2022-11-15), "LEPIDOPTERA, BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS", The New Natural History of Madagascar, Princeton University Press, pp. 1141–1172, doi:10.2307/j.ctv2ks6tbb.152, ISBN   978-0-691-22940-9 , retrieved 2023-09-28
  9. ↑ "Calyptra thalictri (Borkhausen, 1790)". Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa. Retrieved January 13, 2018. Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Our Amazing World: Wonders hidden below the surface [ permanent dead link ] By Avrohom Katz, p, ISBN   0-89906-313-6, accessed 20 October 2008
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