| Creatonotos gangis | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Erebidae |
| Subfamily: | Arctiinae |
| Genus: | Creatonotos |
| Species: | C. gangis |
| Binomial name | |
| Creatonotos gangis | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Creatonotos gangis, the Baphomet moth [2] or Australian horror moth, is a species of arctiine moth in South East Asia and Australia. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 Centuria Insectorum .
Adults have white hindwings and brown forewings, each with a dark streak, and a wingspan of 4 cm. [1] The abdomen is red or, more rarely, yellow. [1] Males have four large, grey-colored coremata behind them, which can exceed the length of the abdomen when inflated. [3]
The eggs are yellow and round, and are laid in rows on the leaves of food plants. The caterpillars are brown hairy animals with a yellow stripe along the back, with a polyphagous diet, [1] known as a minor pest which feeds on groundnuts, rice, ragi, sorghum, Pennisetum americanum , coffee, sweet potato, and lucerne crops. [4] [ failed verification ]
In The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume I, the species is described as follows:
Antennae minutely ciliated in both sexes. Head, thorax and fore wing pale pinkish ochreous. Palpi and legs smoky black, the femora yellow; a broad dorsal band on thorax; abdomen crimson above, with dorsal and lateral series of black spots. Fore wing with a broad black fascia below median nervure; two black spots at end of cell, and a broad streak beyond the lower angle. Hind wing pale or dark fuscous; some specimens with a sub-marginal series of black spots. The variety continuatus has additional black streaks on the fore wing below the costa, in cell, above inner margin, and in the marginal interspaces, but all the intergrades occur. Larva black, sparsely clothes with long hairs; head marked with white; a yellow dorsal line with a series of orange spots on it; prolegs pale.
— The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume I [5] [ failed verification ]
Creatonotos gangis lives in South East Asia and parts of Australia. [6] Its Asian distribution includes eastern Indonesia, India, Iran, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Thailand and New Guinea. [1] In Australia, it is restricted to northern parts of Western Australia, Northern Territory and Queensland, extending as far south as Mackay. [7]
Adult males secrete the pheromone hydroxydanaidal in order to attract mates. The amount produced, and the size of the coremata which produce it, are however dependent on the diet that the moth experienced as a caterpillar. If the larval diet contained pyrrolizidine alkaloids, then the coremata become large and the male will release up to 400 micrograms (0.4 milligrams) of Hydroxydanaidal, but if it does not, then the coremata do not grow large and no scent is produced. [8]
The larvae of C. gangis can cause extensive damage to the foliage of pomegranate trees. [6]
Psilogramma menephron, the privet hawk moth or large brown hawkmoth, is a member of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Pieter Cramer in 1780. It is usually found in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, central and southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. Psilogramma casuarinae from eastern Australia was long treated as a synonym but is now thought to be a distinct species. The introduced population on Hawaii was first thought to be P. menephron, but is Psilogramma increta.
Delias pasithoe, the redbase Jezebel is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites. The species is found in parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. There has been some dispute for which species the specific name aglaja, used twice by Linnaeus in 1758, applies – the redbase Jezebel, or the dark green fritillary, a brush-footed butterfly. Here, Delias pasithoe is used for the redbase Jezebel, based on the replacement name proposed by Linnaeus himself.
Acherontia styx, the lesser death's head hawkmoth or bee robber, is a sphingid moth found in Asia, one of the three species of death's-head hawkmoth. It is very fond of honey, and bee keepers have reported finding dead moths in their hives as a result of bee stings. They can mimic the scent of 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 of the beehive and suck the honey out. They are also known to be a pest of yuzu in South Korea, using their tongue to pierce and damage the fruit.
Hippotion celerio, the vine hawk-moth or silver-striped hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Grammodes geometrica is a moth found from the Mediterranean east to Oriental and Australasian tropics of India, Sri Lanka, Java and Australia. The adult is a fruit piercer. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775.
Cephonodes hylas, the coffee bee hawkmoth, pellucid hawk moth or coffee clearwing, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1771. A widely distributed moth, it is found in the Near East, Middle East, Africa, India, Sri Lanka, Japan, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Hulodes caranea is a species of moth of the family Erebidae first described by Pieter Cramer in 1780. It is found from India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Java, Hong Kong to Queensland and New Guinea, it is also found on the Marianas and Carolines.
Eudocima materna, the dot-underwing moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae found in widespread parts of the world, mainly in tropical Asia extending to New Guinea and Australia as well as in Africa. Reports from the United States, Canada and the French Antilles are now considered to be Eudocima apta. The species can be differentiated from other Eudocima moths by the presence of small central black dot in each hindwing. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae.
Mythimna decisissima is a moth of the family Noctuidae first described by Francis Walker in 1856. It is found from India across south-east Asia including Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and Australia in Queensland and New South Wales. It is also present in South Africa.
Thyas coronata is a species of moth of the family Erebidae first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is found from the Indo-Australian tropics of southern China, Taiwan, Japan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka to Micronesia and the Society Islands.
Eudocima phalonia, the common fruit-piercing moth, is a fruit piercing moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 Centuria Insectorum. It is found in large parts of the tropics, mainly in Asia, Africa and Australia but introduced into other areas such as Hawaii, New Zealand and the Society Islands. It is one of major fruit pests in the world.
Calyptra minuticornis, the vampire moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It has been found in Indonesia, Java, India, Sri Lanka, and Australasia.
Serrodes campana is a species of moth of the family Erebidae first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found from the Indo-Australian tropics to eastern Australia, Fiji, Samoa and New Caledonia. It is also present in Japan, Korea and Sri Lanka. The adult is a fruit piercer, but also feeds on flower nectar.
Ischyja manlia is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae first described by Pieter Cramer in 1776. It is found in the Indian subregion, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Okinawa, Sundaland, Sulawesi, Korea, the southern Moluccas, Australia (Queensland) and Palau.
Oraesia emarginata is a species of moth of the family Erebidae first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794. It is found in Australia, New Caledonia, Indonesia, New Guinea, Pakistan, the Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Taiwan, China, Japan, Korea and Nepal as well as Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, the Gambia, Uganda, Oman and Yemen.
Olepa ricini is a moth of the family Erebidae first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. An older treatment placed the species in the genus Pericallia.
Hydrillodes lentalis is a species of moth of the family Erebidae described by Achille Guenée in 1854. It is found in south-east Asia and Australia (Queensland).
Westermannia superba is a moth of the family Nolidae first described by Jacob Hübner in 1823. It is found on New Guinea, Australia (Queensland), India, Sri Lanka, Singapore and on Sumatra, Borneo and Palawan.
Creatonotos interrupta is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of Systema Naturae. It is often listed as a synonym of Creatonotos gangis, but the identity is unclear.
Euchromia polymena is a species of day flying moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. These moths are vibrantly coloured and look like wasps so known as Wasp moth or Painted handmaiden moth. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in India and south-eastern Asia, as well as on Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and the Philippines. It is also present in the northern part of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.