| Speckled footman | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Erebidae |
| Subfamily: | Arctiinae |
| Genus: | Coscinia |
| Species: | C. cribraria |
| Binomial name | |
| Coscinia cribraria | |
| Synonyms | |
List
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Coscinia cribraria, the speckled footman, is a species of moth belonging to the subfamily Arctiinae within the large family Erebidae. This moth has a widespread distribution in the Palearctic.
Coscinia cribraria was first described as Phalaena (Bombyx) cribraria by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. [1] Linnaeus's P. cribraria was designated as the type species of the genus Coscinia by George Hampson in 1901, the genus having been proposed by Jacob Hübner in 1819. [2] This is a polytypic species with a number of described subspecies. For example in the United Kingdom there is an endemic subspecies C. c. bivittata occurs in Dorset ad the New Forest while a migrant subspecies from continental Europe C. c. arenaria occurs as a scarce migrant in eastern England. [3] Other taxa from Iberia, such as Coscinia benderi , C. c. rippertii and C. c. ibicenca have also been shown to be subspecies of C. ccribaria, having previously been regarded as separate species. [4] The genus Coscinia is placed within the subtribe Callimorphina within the tribe Arctiini in the subfamily Arctiinae, part of the large family Erebidae. [5]
Coscinia cribraria has a forewing which has a background colour of dirty white marked with black streaks along the wings and crossbands made up of dark dots, both of which vary in extent. The subspecies arenaria has an almost pure white forewing. [6] The speckled footman has a wingspan of between 30 and 35 mm (1.2 and 1.4 in). [7]
Coscinia cribraria has a wide Palearctic distribution being found from Northwestern Africa Iberia and southern Great Britain east to China and Mongolia. [1] In Europe, north of the Alps, the speckled footman is typically found on sandy heaths and open sandy pine forests. To the south of the Alps, it inhabits on dry mountain meadows with stony or rocky areas and around the Mediterranean this species can be found in habitats like maquis and in open forests. [8]
Coscinia cribraria feeds on a wide variety of plants and caterpillars have been recorded feeding on bristle beny ( Agrostis curtisii ), bell heather ( Erica cinerea ), cross-leaved heath ( Erica tetralix ), ling ( Calluna vulgaris ) and bilberry ( Vaccinium myrtillus ). However, like other footman moths, the lichens in the genus Cladonia are an important component of the habitat and larval diet of the speckled footman. In southern England the eggs are laid in June, mainly on ling and bristle bent with a few females being observed to oviposit during daylight hours. The eggs are laid high up on the stems of the plants. The caterpillars overwinter as larvae [3] and pupate in the June following their hatching, creating rather flimsy cocoons among grass and heather. [9] At altitudes of less than 1,000 m (3,300 ft) in this species' range south of the Alps the speckled footman is bivoltine with imagos on the wing in May and June, as well as August and September. [8]
Coscinia cribaria is common in the southern part ofits range but in northern Europe it is vulnerable to the destrucion of the open sandy heaths it prefers. [8] In the United Kingdom it is classified as nationally rare meaning that it has been recorded from fewer than 15, or fewer, hectads. [9]
The scarlet tiger moth is a colorful moth belonging to the tiger moth subfamily, Arctiinae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Bombyx is the genus of true silk moths or mulberry silk moths of the family Bombycidae, also known as silkworms, which are the larvae or caterpillars of silk moths. The genus was erected as a subgenus by Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae (1758).
Utetheisa is a genus of tiger moths in the family Erebidae. The genus was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1819.
The Arctiini are a tribe of tiger moths in the family Erebidae.
Phalaena is an obsolete genus of Lepidoptera used by Carl Linnaeus to house most moths.
Argina is a genus of tiger moths in the family Erebidae. They are distributed throughout Africa, Mauritius, China, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Andaman Islands, New Guinea and Australia.
Coscinia is a genus of tiger moths in the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819.
Creatonotos is a genus of tiger moths in the family Erebidae. The moths in the genus are found in the Afrotropics, South and East Asia, Sundaland and Australia.
Cybosia is a monotypic moth genus in the subfamily Arctiinae erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819. Its only species, Cybosia mesomella, the four-dotted footman, was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Diacrisia is a genus of tiger moths in the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819. Its species can be found in Europe and Asia.
Dolgoma is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae. The genus was erected by Frederic Moore in 1878.
Utetheisa pulchella, the crimson-speckled flunkey, crimson-speckled footman, or crimson-speckled moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Spiris striata, the feathered footman, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Manulea complana, the scarce footman, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found throughout the Palearctic region.
Miltochrista is a genus of moths of the family Erebidae, subfamily Arctiinae. The genus was erected by Jacob Hübner in 1819.
Tinea trinotella is a species of tineoid moth. It belongs to the fungus moth family (Tineidae), and therein to the nominate subfamily Tineinae. It was once used as type species of a distinct genus Acedes, but this is synonymized today with Tinea, the type genus of Tineinae, Tineidae and the superfamily Tineoidea.
In the 10th edition of Systema Naturae, Carl Linnaeus classified the arthropods, including insects, arachnids and crustaceans, among his class "Insecta". Butterflies and moths were brought together under the name Lepidoptera. Linnaeus divided the group into three genera – Papilio, Sphinx and Phalaena. The first two, together with the seven subdivisions of the third, are now used as the basis for nine superfamily names: Papilionoidea, Sphingoidea, Bombycoidea, Noctuoidea, Geometroidea, Tortricoidea, Pyraloidea, Tineoidea and Alucitoidea.
Dicallomera is a genus of tussock moths in the family Erebidae.
