Nyctemera
| Nyctemera | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nyctemera amica | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Erebidae |
| Tribe: | Arctiini |
| Subtribe: | Nyctemerina |
| Genus: | Nyctemera Hübner, 1820 |
| Synonyms | |
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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.
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Magpie Moth (Nyctemera secundiana) found in Central Queensland, Australia
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Magpie Moth (Nyctemera annulata) caterpillar feeding on ragwort in Wellington, New Zealand
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Magpie Moth (Nyctemera annulata) cocoon
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Marbled white moth (Nyctemera coleta) from the Philippines
Species
Subgenus Arctata Roepke, 1949
- Nyctemera angustipenis
- Nyctemera arctata
- Nyctemera montata
- Nyctemera browni
- Nyctemera consobriniformis
- Nyctemera gratia
- Nyctemera hyalina
- Nyctemera kinabaluensis
- Nyctemera kishidai
- Nyctemera lunulata
- Nyctemera luzonensis
- Nyctemera owadai
- Nyctemera palawanica
- Nyctemera robusta
- Nyctemera toxopei
- Nyctemera undulata
Subgenus Coleta Roepke, 1949
Subgenus Deilemera Hübner, [1820], 1816
Subgenus Luctuosana de Vos, 2010
Subgenus Nyctemera s.str.
- Nyctemera amicus
- Nyctemera annulata
- Nyctemera baulus
- Nyctemera cenis
- Nyctemera kala
- Nyctemera kebeae
- Nyctemera lacticinia
- Nyctemera kebeae
- Nyctemera latemarginata
- Nyctemera latistriga
- Nyctemera mastrigti
- Nyctemera obtusa
- Nyctemera pagenstecheri
- Nyctemera pseudokala
- Nyctemera sonticum
- Nyctemera warmasina
The Nyctemera (Nyctemera) clathrata species group
Subgenus Orphanos Hübner, [1825], 1816
- Nyctemera adversata
- Nyctemera apensis
- Nyctemera calcicola
- Nyctemera clarior
- Nyctemera distincta
- Nyctemera kiauensis
- Nyctemera kinibalina
- Nyctemera lugens
- Nyctemera malaccana
- Nyctemera ploesslo
- Nyctemera popiya
- Nyctemera radiata
- Nyctemera regularis
- Nyctemera sumatrensis
- Nyctemera tenompoka
- Nyctemera tripunctaria
Subgenus Tritomera de Vos & Dubatolov, 2010
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
Afrotropical species transferred into Chiromachla Strand, 1909
Afrotropical species transferred into Podomachla Strand, 1909
Afrotropical species transferred into Xylecata Swinhoe, 1904
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.
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