The BioFiles - Bill Hubick

Virgin Tiger Moth (Grammia virgo)

Source: Wikipedia

Apantesis virgo
Male Virgin Tiger Moth
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae
Genus: Apantesis
Species:
A. virgo
Binomial name
Apantesis virgo
Synonyms
  • Grammia virgo (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Bombyx virgo Linnaeus, 1758
  • Euprepia virgo var. citrinaria Neumoegen & Dyar, 1893
  • Grammia virgo f. simplex Stretch, 1906

Apantesis virgo, the virgin tiger moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.[1][2] It is found in North America from Newfoundland south to Florida west to Alberta.

The wingspan is about 56 mm.[3]

The larvae feed on various low-growing plants, including Thermopsis rhombifolia and Plantago species.[4] The species overwinters in the larval stage.[5]

This species was formerly a member of the genus Grammia, but was moved to Apantesis along with the other species of the genera Grammia, Holarctia, and Notarctia.[6][7]

Subspecies

[edit]
  • Apantesis virgo virgo (from the Great Lakes region and Atlantic seaboard south through New England, to at least West Virginia. In the west, the range extends to north-eastern British Columbia)
  • Apantesis virgo gigas B. C. Schmidt, 2009 (south-eastern United States, including the Great Smoky Mountains, south to Georgia and northern Florida)[8]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Savela, Markku. "Grammia virgo (Linnaeus, 1758)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  2. ^ "930244.00 – 8197 – Apantesis virgo – Virgin Tiger Moth – (Linnaeus, 1758)". North American Moth Photographers Group. Mississippi State University. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  3. ^ "Grammia virgo". Insect Fauna of Tallgrass Prairies. North Dakota State University. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  4. ^ Schmidt, B. C. & Robinson, E. "Species Details Grammia virgo". University of Alberta Museums. E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  5. ^ Cotinis (December 20, 2016). "Species Apantesis virgo - Virgin Tiger Moth - Hodges#8197". BugGuide. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  6. ^ Rönkä, Katja; Mappes, Johanna; Kaila, Lauri; Wahlberg, Niklas (2016). "Putting Parasemia in its phylogenetic place: a molecular analysis of the subtribe Arctiina (Lepidoptera)". Systematic Entomology. 41 (4): 844–853. doi:10.1111/syen.12194. hdl:10138/176841.
  7. ^ Schmidt, B. Christian; Lafontaine, J. Donald; Troubridge, James T. (2018). "Additions and corrections to the check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico IV". ZooKeys (252): 241–252. doi:10.3897/zookeys.252.28500. PMC 6189224. PMID 30337831.
  8. ^ Schmidt, B. C. (2009). "Taxonomic revision of the genus Grammia Rambur (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Arctiinae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 156: 507-597. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00496.x