Carlotta's Tiger Moth - Hodges#8171.1

Apantesis carlotta

This record describes Apantesis carlotta (species). Recorded family: Erebidae. Recorded order: Lepidoptera.

Identification and Appearance

Carlotta's Tiger Moth - Hodges#8171.1 - Apantesis carlotta — Contributed by Matthew Roth; Additional contributions by Maury Heiman , marcie oconnor

Rfw 16.3 mm, dfw costal margin black from base to end of discal cell, hws of male pale orange yellow, hw of female pale orange yellow or pink, always with broken black border. Ptagiae in males are unmarked yellowish, in females ptagiae are black, edged with yellow. Until relatively recently, this species was confused with A. nais and A. phalerata. Covell accurately depicts A. nais, A. phalerata, and the southeastern A. vittata. These names are missassigned in the keys of Forbes, and even these three 'better known' species were still confused at the time of Holland.

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae
Tribe: Arctiini
Genus: Apantesis

Imported taxonomy record. Source availability varies; see the source references and editorial policy below.

Habitat and Range

Geographic Range

Maine to Georgia, west to North Dakota and Texas.

Diet and Behavior

Diet: Larvae reared in captivity on Lactuca-- wild lettuce.

Life History

Egg; larva; larva; larva; adult

About Butterflies and Moths: the wider group

Order-level background for Lepidoptera, the group containing Apantesis carlotta. Species-specific details appear above.

Group overview

Lepidoptera includes approximately 180,000 described species of butterflies and moths. Moths outnumber butterflies roughly 10:1. The monarch butterfly's eastern population has declined by more than 80% since the mid-1990s, and the western population by over 95% since the 1980s. The IUCN lists the migratory monarch as Vulnerable.

Ecological role of the group

Butterflies and moths are essential indicators of ecosystem health. As caterpillars, they are a primary food source for birds - a single nest of blue tit chicks requires ~10,000 caterpillars. Adult moths pollinate many night-blooming plants.

Economic and practical significance of the group

Lepidoptera are critical pollinators. In Europe, grassland butterfly species have declined by almost 50% since the early 1990s. In the UK, three-quarters of butterflies are in decline. In the U.S., five butterfly species have gone extinct since 1950, with 29 listed as endangered.

Recorded sources for this group: IUCN Red List, Xerces Society, USFWS, PNAS, WWF. Imported estimates may describe particular regions or reporting periods.

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