Utetheisa ornatrix
Utetheisa ornatrix
Utetheisa ornatrix is a moth in the subfamily of the tiger moths ( Arctiinae ).
- 3.1 systematics
- 4.1 Notes and references
- 4.2 Literature
Features
Butterfly
The wingspan of the butterfly is 30 to 44 millimeters. They are very striking colored and vary in color greatly. The narrow forewings are white -pink to bright red and show whitish transverse bands, in which there are black dots. The hind wings are extensive white to bright red and show a thin black border as well as individual small gray or black spots near the front edge. Head and thorax are provided and whitish with black spots. The abdomen has a pale gray color.
Egg, caterpillar, pupa
The spherical egg is whitish to yellowish.
Adults caterpillars are up to 35 millimeters long, are orange to brownish and show black stripes on each segment.
The doll has a glossy black -brown color and is equipped with some irregular orange stripes.
Geographical distribution
The species is found in North, Central and South America.
Way of life
Utetheisa ornatrix forms depending on the occurrence of one or two generations per year, and sometimes generations in a continuous sequence. The moths fly during the day and at night. At rest, they put the wings in the form of an arrowhead close together. Eggs are laid in groups on the leaves of the host plant. Main food plants of the caterpillars are Crotalaria species and Farnmyrte ( Comptonia peregrina ). Young caterpillars initially feed on the leaves, and later from the fruits of the plants. A special feature here is that the crawler can absorb and store poisonous substances from the food plants. It is to Pyrrolizidinalkaloide. This makes them unpalatable to potential predators and are protected from this. Sometimes even cannibalism was observed in the caterpillars, especially if older caterpillars still have need of pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
System
Carl Linnaeus described two species ornatrix pale colored Phalaena and the strong colored Phalaena bella. Huebner was the Genus later named Utetheisa. Recent studies by Lafontaine et al. and DaCosta only lead Utetheisa ornatrix as an independent art