Orgyia antiqua
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. Please help recruit one or improve this article yourself. See the talk page for details. Please consider using {{Expert-subject}} to associate this request with a WikiProject |
| Orgyia antiqua – Vapourer or Rusty Tussock Moth |
||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Caterpillar in Berlin, mid-August
|
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Orgyia antiqua Linnaeus, 1758 |
The Rusty Tussock Moth or Vapourer, Orgyia antiqua, is a moth in the family Lymantriidae that was native to Europe, but that is now transcontinental in distribution in the Palaearctic and the Nearctic regions.
Contents |
[edit] Description
There is a striking dimorphism between the male and the female moths of this species. The male moth typically has orange- to red-brown wings, each with a white spot. He has marked plumose antennae. The wingspan measures between 25 and 30 millimetres. The female moth has vestigial wings and is flightless; she is light grey-brown and has a swollen abdomen (Waring et al., 2003). The caterpillar is distinctive (see images and below).
[edit] Range
Orgyia antiqua is native to Europe, but now has a transcontinental distribution in the Palaearctic and the Nearctic regions (Carter, 2004).
[edit] Status
The species is not on the IUCN (2007) Red List; and in the UK is considered a common resident (Waring et al., 2003).
[edit] Habitat
In the UK, Orgyia antiqua may be encountered in a variety of shrub-based habitats, including gardens, parks, open woodland, fens, hedgerows, heaths and moors (Waring et al., 2003).
[edit] Habits
The male flies in a zigzag pattern—often high up in search of females—and is active during the day or at night. Males occasionally come to light (Waring et al., 2003). In New Brunswick, Canada, adult males are attracted to pheromone traps set in commercial forests for White-marked Tussock Moth (O. leucostigma) (Carter, 2004).
The caterpillar is a minor forest pest in North America (Carter, 2004), and may become a pest in cities in the UK (Porter, 1997).
[edit] Life cycle
[edit] Egg
Several hundred eggs are laid on the outside of the female's empty cocoon, usually attached to a host-plant or something close by (e.g. fence, wall) (Waring et al., 2003). The species over-winters in the egg stage.
[edit] Caterpillar
The larvae are easily recognized by their horn-like tufts of hair-like setae. There are 4 toothbrush-like tufts along the back, and hair pencils that project from the sides at the front and at the back. The body is black, and there are red tubercules along the sides and back. They have defensive glands at the back, and wipe their setae against them to charge them with toxins (Wagner, 2005). They grow to about 30–40 mm. In the UK, caterpillars can be found between May and early September (Waring et al., 2003).
[edit] Pupa
[edit] Imago
The female mates and lays her grey-yellow eggs in large numbers on her fine-meshed cocoon. The adult moths don't feed and are therefore granted only a short life. The two generations fly from May till October; in North America there is only one generation a year (Wagner, 2005). In the UK, there is believed to be one protracted generation, from July to October in the south, and from September to October in the north (Waring et al. 2003).
[edit] Host-plants
They are polyphagous and feed on a wide range of deciduous trees and shrubs, such as Betula, Crataegus, Lime (Citrus), Prunus, Quercus, Rubus, Salix, Tamarix and Vaccinium (Porter, 1997; Wagner, 2005).
[edit] Gallery
 Orgyia antiqua caterpillar showing the four clumps of yellow tussock hairs on its back |
 Orgyia antiqua (male) |
 Rear view of "calling" female |
 The female lays her eggs on the remains of her own cocoon |
 Eggs (close up) |
[edit] References
- Carter, Nelson E. 2004. Status of forest pests in New Brunswick in 2003. Department of Natural Resources, Fredericton, New Brunswick, pp. 7–8. (Available at [1])
- IUCN 2007. 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 01 January 2008.
- Porter, Jim. 1997. The Colour Identification Guide to Caterpillars of the British Isles. Viking, London, p. 80.
- Wagner, D.M. 2005. Caterpillars of eastern North America. Princeton University Press.
- Waring, Paul, Martin Townsend and Richard Lewington. 2003. Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland. British Wildlife Publishing, Hook, UK, p. 208.
[edit] See also
