The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly is a bright orange butterfly in the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. That subfamily was formerly set apart as a separate family, the Heliconiidae. The Heliconiinae are "longwing butterflies", which have long, narrow wings compared to other butterflies.
The Arctiinae are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species. This subfamily includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths, which usually have bright colours, footmen, which are usually much drabber, lichen moths, and wasp moths. Many species have "hairy" caterpillars that are popularly known as woolly bears or woolly worms. The scientific name Arctiinae refers to this hairiness. Some species within the Arctiinae have the word "tussock"' in their common names because they have been misidentified as members of the Lymantriinae subfamily based on the characteristics of the larvae.
The cabbage looper is a medium-sized moth in the family Noctuidae, a family commonly referred to as owlet moths. Its common name comes from its preferred host plants and distinctive crawling behavior. Cruciferous vegetables, such as cabbage, bok choy, and broccoli, are its main host plant; hence, the reference to cabbage in its common name. The larva is called a looper because it arches its back into a loop when it crawls.
Greta oto is a species of brush-footed butterfly and member of the subfamily Danainae, tribe Ithomiini, and subtribe Godyridina. It is known by the common name glasswing butterfly for its transparent wings, which allow it to camouflage without extensive coloration. In Spanish-speaking regions, it may also be referred to as espejitos, meaning "little mirrors" because of its transparent wings. The butterfly is mainly found in Central and northern regions of South America, with sightings as far north as Texas and as far south as Chile. While its wings appear delicate, the butterfly is able to carry up to 40 times its own weight. In addition to its wing physiology, the butterfly is known for behaviors such as long migrations and lekking. Greta oto closely resembles Greta andromica.
The queen butterfly is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae with a wingspan of 80–85 mm. It is orange or brown with black wing borders and small white forewing spots on its dorsal wing surface, and reddish ventral wing surface fairly similar to the dorsal surface. The ventral hindwings have black veins and small white spots in a black border. The male has a black androconial scent patch on its dorsal hindwings. It can be found in meadows, fields, marshes, deserts, and at the edges of forests.
Spilosoma virginica is a species of moth in the subfamily Arctiinae occurring in the United States and southern Canada. As a caterpillar, it is known as the yellow woolly bear or yellow bear caterpillar. As an adult, it is known as the Virginian tiger moth.
Halysidota tessellaris, also called the pale tiger moth, banded tussock moth, and tessellated halisidota, is in the family Erebidae and the tribe Arctiini, the tiger moths. The species was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797. Like many related species, adult moths have chemical defenses acquired from its host plants, in this case, alkaloids. Larval behaviors suggest that they are chemically protected; they have not been analyzed for alkaloid content.
Zygaena loti, the slender Scotch burnet, is a moth of the family Zygaenidae. It is a diurnal moth characterized by a black body, light colored legs, and red spots on its wings. The caterpillars are a yellow-green color and usually molt out of dormancy in late February to early March. The larvae feed on plants from the family Fabaceae until they enter their pupal stage and mature into adults in May to early June. For mating, Zygaenidae exhibit a dual-partner finding strategy, where females use pheromones while assuming a calling position, and males exhibit a patrolling behavior where they utilize both vision and the olfactory receptors in their antennae to locate a potential mate. Although regionally endangered as their population is declining, Z. loti is found all across Europe, inhabiting areas rich in their desired food plants: lime-rich, and characterized by a hot and dry climate. The decreases in their population are likely due to factors such as habitat loss and fragmentation brought on by commercial agriculture and urbanization, as well as global climate change. There are few conservation programs currently focusing on Zygaena loti.
Utetheisa ornatrix, also called the ornate bella moth, ornate moth, bella moth or rattlebox moth, is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It is aposematically colored ranging from pink, red, orange and yellow to white coloration with black markings arranged in varying patterns on its wings. It has a wingspan of 33–46 mm. Moths reside in temperate midwestern and eastern North America as well as throughout Mexico and other parts of Central America. Unlike most moths, the bella moth is diurnal. Formerly, the bella moth or beautiful utetheisa of temperate eastern North America was separated as Utetheisa bella. Now it is united with the bella moth in Utetheisa ornatrix.
Estigmene acrea, the salt marsh moth or acrea moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. It is found in North America, and southwards from Mexico to Colombia.
Pyrrolizidine alkaloid sequestration by insects is a strategy to facilitate defense and mating. Various species of insects have been known to use molecular compounds from plants for their own defense and even as their pheromones or precursors to their pheromones. A few Lepidoptera have been found to sequester chemicals from plants which they retain throughout their life and some members of Erebidae are examples of this phenomenon. Starting in the mid-twentieth century researchers investigated various members of Arctiidae, and how these insects sequester pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) during their life stages, and use these chemicals as adults for pheromones or pheromone precursors. PAs are also used by members of the Arctiidae for defense against predators throughout the life of the insect.
Cadra figulilella, the raisin moth, is a moth of the family Pyralidae. The raisin moth is known most commonly as a pest that feeds on dried fruits, such as the raisin and date. It covers a range that includes much of the world, primarily situating itself in areas of California, Florida, the Eastern Mediterranean region, and some parts of Africa, Australia, and South America. The moth prefers to live in a hot, arid climate with little moisture and plentiful harvest for its larvae to feed on. Study of this species is important due to the vast amount of economic damage it causes yearly and worldwide to agriculture crops.
Creatonotos gangis, the Baphomet moth 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.
Eldana is a genus of moths of the family Pyralidae containing only one species, the African sugar-cane borer, which is commonly found in Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and South Africa. Adults have pale brown forewings with two small spots in the centre and light brown hindwings, and they have a wingspan of 35mm. This species is particularly relevant to humans because the larvae are a pest of the Saccharum species as well as several grain crops such as sorghum and maize. Other recorded host plants are cassava, rice and Cyperus species. When attacking these crops, E. saccharina bores into the stems of their host plant, causing severe damage to the crop. This behavior is the origin of the E. saccharrina's common name, the African sugar-cane borer. The African sugar-cane borer is a resilient pest, as it can survive crop burnings. Other methods such as intercropping and parasitic wasps have been employed to prevent further damage to crops.
Creatonotos transiens is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first scientifically described by Francis Walker in 1855.
Cadra calidella, the dried fruit or date moth, is a species of snout moth in the genus Cadra and commonly mistaken for the species Cadra figulilella. It thrives in warmer conditions and is found primarily in Mediterranean countries, although it can also be found in Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Transcaucasia, Caucasus, and the western part of Russia. It feeds on dried fruits, carobs, nuts and seeds, hence earning its colloquial name. This diet damages the food industry, and it is a common storage pest. Because of this, much research has been done to study ways to limit its reproduction rate and population size. It was first described by Achille Guenée in 1845.
Ostrinia scapulalis, the adzuki bean borer or adzuki bean worm, is a species of moth in the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1859. It is one of 20 moths in the genus Ostrinia and is of Eurasian origin. The larvae have a gray mid-dorsal line and can be light pink or beige. The adult adzuki bean borer has a yellowish-brown forewing with jagged lines and variable darker shading, with a wingspan that ranges from 20 to 32 mm. The moths of this species are nocturnal and tend to be attracted to light.
Ostrinia furnacalis is a species of moth in the family Crambidae, the grass moths. It was described by Achille Guenée in 1854 and is known by the common name Asian corn borer since this species is found in Asia and feeds mainly on corn crop. The moth is found from China to Australia, including in Java, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Borneo, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Micronesia. The Asian corn borer is part of the species complex, Ostrinia, in which members are difficult to distinguish based on appearance. Other Ostrinia such as O. orientalis, O. scapulalis, O. zealis, and O. zaguliaevi can occur with O. furnacalis, and the taxa can be hard to tell apart.
Hydroxydanaidal is an insect pheromone synthesized by some species of moth from pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in their diet.
Insect pheromones are neurotransmitters that serve the chemical communication between individuals of an insect species. They thus differ from kairomones, in other words, neurotransmitters that transmit information to non-species organisms. Insects produce pheromones in special glands and release them into the environment. In the pheromone receptors of the sensory cells of the recipient, they produce a nerve stimulus even in very low concentrations, which ultimately leads to a behavioral response. Intraspecific communication of insects via these substances takes place in a variety of ways and serves, among other things, to find sexual partner, to maintain harmony in a colony of socially living insects, to mark territories or to find nest sites and food sources.
