Apantesis virgo

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.

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

The wingspan is about 56 mm. The colour of the hindwings varies from yellow to scarlet, with one or more median dark blotches in addition to the discal spot.[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
  • 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
  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.
  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
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