Nyctemera

Nyctemera

Nyctemera amica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Erebidae
Subfamily:	Arctiinae
Tribe:	Arctiini
Subtribe:	Nyctemerina
Genus:	Nyctemera Hübner, 1820
Synonyms
Agagles White, 1841 Amathes Gistl, 1848 Arctata Roepke, 1949 Coleta Roepke, 1949 Deilemera Hübner, 1820 Leptosoma Boisduval, 1832 Orphanos Hübner, 1825 Tristania Kirby, 1892 Trypheromera Butler, 1881 Zonosoma Butler, 1881

Nyctemera is a genus of tiger moths in the Erebidae family.

The genus includes the species Nyctemera annulata and Nyctemera amica, which are closely related and are able to interbreed. They are medium sized moths, the adults having a wingspan of 35–45 millimetres (1.4–1.8 in). The wings are usually dark with lighter patches, while the body is often aposematically coloured to discourage birds and other visual predators from eating them.

The slow-flying moths can often be seen feeding at flowers; it is common around its preferred food plants of the daisy family, for example groundsel (and other Senecio spp.), ragworts and Cineraria. The colourful hairy larvae feed openly on the plants, often stripping off all the leaves. The mature larvae will sometimes wander from the plant to pupate. The loosely spun cocoon incorporates some of the larval hairs and may also be found amongst leaves.

Several species formerly placed here are now assigned to other genera. These include Utetheisa (containing Atasca, Pitasila and Raanya, erstwhile subgenera of Nyctemera), the revalidated Chiromachla, Podomachla and Xylecata, and the newly established Afronyctemera.

Magpie Moth (Nyctemera secundiana) found in Central Queensland, Australia
Magpie Moth (Nyctemera annulata) caterpillar feeding on ragwort in Wellington, New Zealand
Magpie Moth (Nyctemera annulata) cocoon
Marbled white moth (Nyctemera coleta) from the Philippines

Species

Subgenus Arctata Roepke, 1949

Subgenus Coleta Roepke, 1949

Subgenus Deilemera Hübner, [1820], 1816

Subgenus Luctuosana de Vos, 2010

Subgenus Nyctemera s.str.

The Nyctemera (Nyctemera) clathrata species group

Subgenus Orphanos Hübner, [1825], 1816

Subgenus Tritomera de Vos & Dubatolov, 2010

Nyctemera trita

Unsorted Nyctemera species

Nyctemera formosana (mostly placed as a synonym of Nyctemera carissima)
Nyctemera genora
Nyctemera immitans
Nyctemera quaternarium

Afrotropical species transferred into Afronyctemera Dubatolov, 2006

Nyctemera itokina

Afrotropical species transferred into Chiromachla Strand, 1909

Nyctemera chalcosidia
Nyctemera gracilis
Nyctemera insulare
Nyctemera leuconoe
Nyctemera pallescens
Nyctemera perspicua
Nyctemera restrictum
Nyctemera seychellensis
Nyctemera torbeni
Nyctemera transitella

Afrotropical species transferred into Podomachla Strand, 1909

Nyctemera acraeina
Nyctemera antinorii
Nyctemera apicalis
Nyctemera arieticornis
Nyctemera chromis
Nyctemera insularis
Nyctemera usambarae
Nyctemera virgo

Afrotropical species transferred into Xylecata Swinhoe, 1904

Nyctemera biformis
Nyctemera crassiantennata
Nyctemera druna
Nyctemera glauce
Nyctemera hemixantha
Nyctemera rattrayi
Nyctemera ugandicola
Nyctemera uniformis
Nyctemera xanthura

Main articles on Nyctemera taxonomy

de Vos, R. 1994 [1995]: Nyctemera groenendaeli spec. nov. from New Guinea (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerina). Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F. 15 (4): 481-489.
de Vos, R. 1995: A revision of Nyctemera consobrina (Hopffer, 1874) with redescription of three subspecies (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae). Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F. 16 (1): 81-93.
de Vos, R. 1996: Nyctemera pseudokala sp. nov. and N. mastrigti sp. nov., two new species from Indonesia (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae). Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F. 17 (3): 301-311.
de Vos, R. 1997: A revision of Nyctemera kebeae (Bethune-Baker, 1904) (with descriptions of two new subspecies) and N. warmasina (Bethune-Baker, 1910) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae). Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F. 18 (1): 1-12.
de Vos, R. 1997: The identity of Nyctemera simulatrix Walker, 1864 (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae). Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F. 18 (2-3): 205-210.
de Vos, R. 2002: Revision of the Nyctemera evergista group (=subgenus Deilemera Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Arctiinae, Nyctemerini). Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F. 23 (1/2): 7-32.
de Vos, R. 2007: Revision of the Nyctemera clathratum complex (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae). Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 150: 39-54.
de Vos, R. 2007: The Utetheisa species of the subgenera Pitasila, Atasca and Raanya subgen. n. (Insecta, Lepidoptera: Arctiidae). Aldrovandia 3: 31-120.
de Vos, R., Černý, K. 1999: A review of the Philippine species of the genus Nyctemera Hübner, [1820] with descriptions of new sspecies and subspecies (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae). Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, N.F. 20 (2): 133-188.
de Vos, R., Dubatolov, V.V. 2010: Nyctemerini. In: Dubatolov, V.V., Tiger-moths of Eurasia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 65: 11-18.
Dubatolov, V.V. 2006: On the generic status of the Afrotropical Nyctemera species (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). Atalanta 37 (1/2): 191-205.

External links

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