Halysidota tessellaris
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Halysidota tessellaris, the banded tussock moth or pale tussock moth or tessellated halisidota, is a moth in the family Arctiidae. Like most species in this family, it has chemical defenses it acquires from its host plants, in this case, alkaloids (Weller et al., 1999, Hristov and Conner 2005), at least in the adult. The brazen behaviour of the larvae also suggests chemical protection in this stage, although they have not been analyzed for alkaloid content.
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[edit] Range
[From southern Canada, and south to Texas and central Florida in North America (Wagner 2005).
[edit] Life cycle
One generation per year in the north, two or more in the south (Wagner 2005).
[edit] Egg
Eggs are laid in masses on the undersides of leaves (Rose and Lindquist, 1982).
[edit] Larva
Caterpillars are covered all over in long hairlike setae, in tufts. These vary in colour from yellowish to dark gray. Extra long 'hair pencils' of white and black occur at both the front and rear of the caterpillar. The head capsule is black. In the north, mature caterpillars are found from July onwards (Wagner 2005). Caterpillars frequently rest on the upper surface of leaves, and though not gregarious, are very conspicuous (Wagner 2005). Grows to a length of 35 mm.
[edit] Pupa
The gray cocoon is laced with 'hairs' from the larvae, and overwinters (Wagner, 2005).
[edit] Adults
Wings are yellowish-white. The forewings have bands of beige edged in faint black across them. The body is 'hairy' and yellow. The thorax has blue-green lines on the upper sides. Adults are attracted to decaying plants that have pyrralizidine alkaloids (Krasnof and Dussourd, 1989). They regurgitate on them and then drink the fluids to acquire these defensive chemicals.
[edit] Food plants
Alder, ash. birch, blueberry, chestnut, elm, grape, hackberry, hazel, oak, walnut, willow, and many others (Wagner, 2005). No serious injury to trees has been reported for this late season feeder (Rose and Lindquist, 1982)
[edit] References
- Krasnoff SB, and DE Dussourd, (1989) Dihydropyrrolizine attractants for arctiid moths that visit plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Journal of Chemical Ecology 15: 47-60.
- Hristov, NL, and WE Conner, 2005. Effectiveness of tiger moth (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) chemical defenses against an insectivorous bat (Eptesicus fuscus). Chemoecology 15(2):105-113.
- Rose, AH and OH Lindquist (1982). Insects of eastern hardwood tress. Canadian Forestry service, Forestry Tech Rep 29. Government of Canada, Ottawa. ISBN 0-660-11205-1.
- Wagner, DL, (2005) Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press.
- Weller SJ, Jacobsen NL, Conner WE (1999) The evolution of chemical defenses and mating systems in tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae). Biol J Linn Soc 68:557–578
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