Water ermine | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
Family: | Erebidae |
Subfamily: | Arctiinae |
Genus: | Spilosoma |
Species: | S. urticae |
Binomial name | |
Spilosoma urticae (Esper, 1789) | |
Synonyms | |
|
Spilosoma urticae, the water ermine, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in temperate belt of the Palearctic realm like similar Spilosoma lubricipedum , but prefers drier biotopes. So, S. urticae is more abundant in steppes and it is the single Spilosoma species in Central Asia.
The wingspan is 38–46 mm. The length of the forewings is 18–22 mm. Hindwings always without black dots. Antennae branches are very short in males, they are equal and not more than twice longer than the antenna stem diameter (this is the best distinguishing character from Spilosoma lubricipeda ). The moth flies April to October depending on the location.
The larvae feed on Rumex hydrolapathum , Mentha aquatica , Iris pseudacorus , Lysimachia vulgaris , Jacobaea vulgaris and Pedicularis sylvatica .
The family Yponomeutidae are known as the ermine moths, with several hundred species, most of them in the tropics. The larvae tend to form communal webs, and some are minor pests in agriculture, forestry, and horticulture. Some of the adults are very attractive. Adult moths are minor pollinators.
The buff ermine is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is sometimes placed in the genus Spilosoma. The species was first described by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel in 1766. It is found throughout the temperate belt of the Palearctic region south to northern Turkey, Georgia, Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, eastern Mongolia, Amur Region, China, Korea and Japan.
Spilosoma virginica is a species of moth in the subfamily Arctiinae. 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.
Spilosoma lubricipeda, the white ermine, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found throughout the temperate belt of Eurasia from Europe through Kazakhstan and southern Siberia to Amur Region, China, Korea and Japan. In China several sibling species occur.
Ardices canescens, the dark-spotted tiger moth or light ermine moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae that is found across most of Australia. It originally was included in the genus Spilosoma, but later the generic status of Ardices was proven.
Spilosoma is a genus of moths in the family Erebidae originally described by John Curtis in 1825. A very heterogeneous group, it is in need of review by the scientific community, as certain species probably need reclassification into their own genera.
Spilosoma sagittifera is a species of moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Frederic Moore in 1888. It is found in India, Nepal, China and Taiwan.
Spilosoma wilemani is a species of moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Walter Rothschild in 1914. It is found in Taiwan and Japan's southern Ryukyu Islands.
Spilosoma fumida is a species of moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Alfred Ernest Wileman in 1910. It is found in Taiwan.
Spilosoma pellucida is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Walter Rothschild in 1910. It is found in Ghana.
Spilosoma obliqua, the jute hairy caterpillar or Bihar hairy caterpillar, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is found in south-eastern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Spilosoma pteridis, the brown tiger moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Henry Edwards in 1875. It is found in the United States in western Oregon and Washington, British Columbia and northern Idaho. The habitat consists of wet forests west of the Cascades, including coastal rainforests, low elevation mixed hardwood-conifer forests, as well as higher elevation conifer forests in the Cascades.
Spilosoma jussiaeae is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Felipe Poey in 1832. It is found on Cuba.
Spilosoma occidens is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Walter Rothschild in 1910. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
Spilosoma togoensis is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Max Bartel in 1903. It is found in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Togo.
Spilosoma latipennis, the pink-legged tiger moth, or the red-legged diacrisia, is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Richard Harper Stretch in 1872. It is found in eastern North America, where it has been recorded from Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, New Brunswick, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Spilosoma vestalis, the Vestal tiger-moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Alpheus Spring Packard in 1864. It is found along the coast of western North America, from California north to the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington and western Idaho.
Spilosoma vagans, the wandering diacrisia or wandering tiger moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1852. It is found in western North America, from southern California, southern Utah and central Colorado north to southern British Columbia and south-western Alberta. The habitat consists of drier forests, including open ponderosa pine forests and mixed hardwood-conifer forests.
Spilosoma metaleuca is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by George Hampson in 1905. It is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Nigeria and Sudan.