Reissita

Reissita
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Zygaenidae
Subfamily: Zygaeninae
Genus: Reissita
Tremewan, 1959
Species: R. simonyi
Binomial name
Reissita simonyi
(Rebel, 1899)
Synonyms
  • Zygaena simonyi Rebel, 1899

Reissita simonyi, the Arabian Burnet Moth, is a species of diurnal moth of the Zygaenidae family. It is the only species from the genus Reissita, and native to the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. It resembles some species from the related genus Zygaena, and like them Reissita simonyi is toxic because it is able to biosynthesize hydrogen cyanide. The larvae feed on Maytenus, specifically M. dhofarensis and M. senegalensis.

It has two subspecies:

References