| Lachana alpherakii | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Erebidae |
| Genus: | Lachana |
| Species: | L. alpherakii |
| Binomial name | |
| Lachana alpherakii (Grum-Grshimailo, 1891) | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Lachana alpherakii is a species of moth of the subfamily Lymantriinae first described by Grigory Grum-Grshimailo in 1891. It is found in the high mountains of Tibet and China. [3]
The wingspan is 22–27 mm. The head, thorax, and abdomen are covered with long silky hairs, mostly intense dark brown with yellowish. It is a very variable species. The wings are mostly yellow with dark brown bands. The basal area of the forewing is yellow lightly mixed with brown scales. The internal bands are dark brown. The hindwings are yellow with a dark brown marginal band. [1]
Grigory Grum-Grshimailo first described this species from Qinghai, China, using the scientific name Dasychira alpherakii in 1891. The species epithet commemorates Sergei Alphéraky, a Greek Russian entomologist from Taganrog who spent the latter part of his life studying the Lepidoptera of Central Asia and East Asia. The following year, in 1892, William Forsell Kirby moved it to the genus Dasorgyia. In 1910 Embrik Strand moved it to the genus Gynaephora , where it was eventually placed in the subgenus Dasorgyia, with as type species G. pumila, by Douglas C. Ferguson in 1978, [1] and Karel Spitzer in 1984. [4] G. pumila was moved to Dicallomera pumila in 2008 by Tatyana A. Trofimova, who was then obliged to look into the other species in the subgenus Dasorgyia, and ended up moving all three to Lachana . [1]
A DNA study published by Vladimir A. Lukhtanov and Olga Khruleva in 2015 found the species Gynaephora aureata , G. jiuzhiensis, G. menyuanensis, G. minora, G. qinghaiensis, G. qumalaiensis and G. ruoergensis all to be closer related to Lachana alpherakii than to any of the other species of Gynaephora . [3] In 1984 Spitzer had suggested G. qinghaiensis was a synonym or a subspecies of G. alpherakii, although he did not formally move the taxon. [4] Trofimova also suggested in 2008 that G. qinghaiensis, G. aureata, G. ruoergensis and G. minora, all described from China by Chou and Ying in 1979, are possibly synonyms of Lachana alpherakii, although not having been able to study the type specimens, she was unable to say anything further. [1]
The species has been collected numerous times around the lake of Koko Nor. In China it is known from the provinces, of Tibet (near a place rendered as "Jecundo") and further from west to east, neighbouring Qinghai (including Koko Nur, Tianjun County), and Gansu (including Ganzhou District, near Lanzhou and the Xining Mountains bordering Qinghai). There is also a doubtful record from much further west, in the Pamirs. [1]
It is known from mountains at extremely high altitudes, having been collected or observed at elevations of 3000-4500m. [1]
The larvae feed on Elaeagnus angustifolia . [1]
It is the primary host species for the parasitoid is the eulophid wasp Sympiesis qinghaiensis of the subfamily Eulophinae in Qinghai. [5]
Elaeagnus angustifolia, commonly called Russian olive, silver berry, oleaster, or wild olive, is a species of Elaeagnus, native to western and central Asia, Iran, from southern Russia and Kazakhstan to Turkey, parts of Pakistan and parts of India. It is widely established in North America as an introduced species.
Parnassius imperator is a high-altitude butterfly which is found in western China and north-east India. It is a member of the generally white, high-elevation genus Parnassius, known as snow Apollos, of the family Papilionidae, known as swallowtails.
Colias is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. They are often called clouded yellows in the Palearctic and sulphurs in North America. The closest living relative is the genus Zerene, which is sometimes included in Colias.
Gynaephora is a genus of "tussock moths", also known as the Lymantriinae, within the family Erebidae. They are mainly found in the Holarctic in alpine, Arctic and Subarctic regions, and are best known for their unusually long larval development period. The life-cycle of Gynaephora groenlandica was once believed to take fourteen years, but subsequent studies reduced it to seven, still a very slow development rate that is extremely rare in the Lepidoptera. The caterpillars have five instars, with each instar lasting a year.
Lachana is a genus of moths in the subfamily Lymantriinae. The genus was described by Frederic Moore in 1888. It contains species native to alpine areas on high mountains in the south of the Central Asia. The females do not have wings and lay their eggs within their own old cocoons.
Gynaephora groenlandica, the Arctic woolly bear moth, is an erebid moth native to the High Arctic in the Canadian archipelago, Greenland and Wrangel Island in Russia. It is known for its slow rate of development, as its full caterpillar life cycle may extend up to 7 years, with moulting occurring each spring. This species remains in a larval state for the vast majority of its life. Rare among Lepidoptera, it undergoes an annual period of diapause that lasts for much of the calendar year, as G. groenlandica is subject to some of the longest, most extreme winters on Earth. In this dormant state, it can withstand temperatures as low as −70 °C. The Arctic woolly bear moth also exhibits basking behavior, which aids in temperature regulation and digestion and affects both metabolism and oxygen consumption. Females generally do not fly, while males usually do.
Lachana ladakensis is a species of moth of the subfamily Lymantriinae. It is found in the mountains of Ladakh, in Kashmir in northwestern India.
Lachana selenophora is a species of moth of the subfamily Lymantriinae. It is found in alpine habitats on the high mountains in Central Asia.
Lachana sincera is a species of moth of the subfamily Lymantriinae. A single example was found in 1909 at high elevations in the Wakhan range of the Pamir Mountains of Tajikistan and is only known to have seen again since in 1961. This was also in the area, making it provisionally endemic to southern Gorno-Badakhshan.
Lachana kulu is a species of moth of the subfamily Lymantriinae from northern India seen once in 1913.
Dicallomera is a genus of tussock moths in the family Erebidae.
Dicallomera pumila is a little seen species of moth of the family Erebidae found in mountains in Kazakhstan and in the southern Urals.
Lycaena rubidus, the ruddy copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the western mountains of North America. Adults lay their eggs on plants of the genus Rumex, which later become the larval food plants. This butterfly gets its name from the brightly colored wings of the males, which are important in sexual selection. Its larvae exhibit mutualism with red ants, and are often raised in ant nests until they reach adulthood. Adults are on wing from mid-July to early August.
Gynaephora rossii, in English known as Ross' tussock moth, is a species of tussock moth in the family Erebidae. It is widespread in the tundras and highlands of the Holarctic. It has large, furry caterpillars which seem to eat mostly saxifrages.
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