Eterusia aedea

Red slug caterpillar
Adult
Larva
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Zygaenidae
Genus:	Eterusia
Species:	E. aedea
Binomial name
Eterusia aedea (Linnaeus, 1763)
Synonyms
Papilio (Heliconius) aedeaLinnaeus, 1763 Heterusia edoclaDoubleday, 1844 Heterusia dulcisButler, 1881 Heterusia signataMöschler, 1872 Eterusia magnificaButler, 1879 Eterusia adocla form lepchaJordan, 1907 Heterusia aedea var. septentrionicolaC. Felder & R. Felder, 1862 Eterusia aedea ab. postluteaStrand, 1916 Eterusia aedea okinoshimensisEsaki & Inoue, 1956 Eterusia aedea ab. okinawanaMatsumura, 1927 Eterusia aedea ishigakianaInoue, 1982

Eterusia aedea, the red slug caterpillar, is a species of moth in the family Zygaenidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 Centuria Insectorum . It is found in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Taiwan, Japan and China.

Description

The wingspan is about 50 mm for males and 56 mm for females. They have a semi-diurnal habit and rather elongated narrow body. The first two segments of the abdomen are black, and there are no dorsal bands in the male. The forewings are dark green. The basal black area of the hindwings is larger, reducing the width of the yellow band, which is very pale. The end of the abdomen is black in the male. ^[1]

Ecology

The larvae have been recorded feeding on a wide range of plants, including Bischofia javanica , Aporosa lindleyana , Aporosa villosa , Cornus florida , Lagerstroemia , Melastoma candidum , Myrica rubra , Sloanea formosana , Rhododendron , Symplocos glauca , Camellia (including C. japonica , C. sasanqua , C. sinensis , C. oleifera ), Eurya japonica , Eurya septata , Cleyera japonica and Buddleja . The larvae of subspecies aedea, sinica, formosana, cingala and virescens have been reported as pests on tea. ^[2]

Subspecies

• Eterusia aedea aedea(Linnaeus, 1763) (Bangladesh, India)
• Eterusia aedea azumaiOwada, 2001 (Japan: Kumejima Island)
• Eterusia aedea cingalaMoore, 1877 (Sri Lanka)
• Eterusia aedea formosanaJordan, 1907 (Taiwan)
• Eterusia aedea hamajiiOwada, 2001 (Japan: Tokunoshima Island)
• Eterusia aedea masatakasatoiOwada, 2001 (Japan: Nakanoshima Island)
• Eterusia aedea micromaculataInoue, 1982 (Japan: Tokara Islands)
• Eterusia aedea okinawanaMatsumura, 1931 (Japan: Ishigaki Island)
• Eterusia aedea sakaguchiiMatsumura, 1927 (Japan: Okinawa Island)
• Eterusia aedea sinicaMénétriés, 1857 (China)
• Eterusia aedea sugitaniiMatsumura, 1927 (Japan: Okinoshima)
• Eterusia aedea virescens(Butler, 1881) (southern India)
• Eterusia aedea tomokuniiOwada, 1989 (Japan: Amami-oshima)

Gallery

• 
  Eterusia aedea formosana

References

1. Hampson, G. F. (1892). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume I. Taylor and Francis – via Biodiversity Heritage Library. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
2. Nomenclatural and Systematic Problems Surrounding Eterusia aedea (Linnaeus, 1763) (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae: Chalcosiinae)

External links

• The pupa of Eterusia aedea (Clerck, 1759) (Lepidoptera, Zygaenidae, Chalcosiinae): Morphology and phylogenetic implications