Giant leopard moth

Giant leopard moth
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Erebidae
Subfamily:	Arctiinae
Genus:	Hypercompe
Species:	H. scribonia
Binomial name
Hypercompe scribonia (Stoll, 1790)
Subspecies
H. s. scribonia (Stoll, 1790) H. s. denudata (Slosson, 1888)
Synonyms
Bombyx chryseis Olivier, 1790 Phalaena scribonia Stoll, 1790 Phalaena oculatissima J.E. Smith, 1797 (unjustified emendation) Bombyx cunegunda Palisot de Beauvois, 1824 Ecpantheria confluens Oberthür, 1881 Ecpantheria denudata Slosson, 1888 Ecpantheria scribonia

The giant leopard moth (Hypercompe scribonia) is a moth of the family Erebidae. They are distributed through North America from southern Ontario, and southern and eastern United States through New England, Mexico, and south to Colombia.^[2][3] The obsolete name, Ecpantheria scribonia, is still occasionally encountered.

They are known to be attracted to bitter, unripe vegetables and broccoli flowers.

This moth species has a wingspan of 76 mm (3 in). Its wings are bright white with a pattern of neat black blotches, some solid and some hollow. The overside of the abdomen is dark blue with orange markings, while the underside is white with solid black spots, and males have a narrow yellow line on the sides. Their legs have black and white bands. Adult moths are strictly nocturnal and do not generally fly before nightfall.^[4]

This species has a notable sexual dimorphism in size, with the adult male reaching about 51 mm (2 in) in length, while the adult female grows up to 30 mm (1.2 in).The leopard moth requires two years to complete its round of life.^[5] In Missouri, adults are on the wing from May to September and are multivoltine.^[6] During mating sessions, the wings of the male cover most of the female's abdomen, which can sometimes lead to the loss of wing scales in the female and have negative effects on her flight efficiency.^[7] Their mating sessions are notably long-lasting, taking more than 24 hours. They stay mostly immobile during the whole process, but move from spot to spot to thermoregulate, walking into shadowy areas if too hot or into sunlight if too cold. The male effectuates the locomotion, while the female folds her legs to make her easier to carry.

The caterpillar is of the "woolly bear" kind, with a thick coat of black bristles (setae) and red or orange bands between its segments, which become conspicuous when the caterpillar rolls into a ball for defense. Like the banded woolly bear, its hairs are not urticant nor venomous and do not typically cause irritation. The moth overwinters as a caterpillar,^[3] often under the bark of decaying wood.^[6] The caterpillar grows to be 7.6 cm (3 in) long.^[6]

Recorded food plants

The caterpillar eats a variety of broadleaf plants, such as broadleaf plantains, dandelions, and violets:

Acer[6] Bougainvillea Brassica oleracea (cabbage)[6] Brugmansia (angel trumpet) Cannabis Citrus Dioscorea Euphorbia Helianthus (sunflower)[6] Lagerstroemia (crepe myrtle)

Lactuca sativa (lettuce)[3] Lonicera (honeysuckle) Magnolia Morus (mulberry tree)[3] Musa (banana/plantain)[6] Ocimum basilicum (basil)[3] Paulownia (princess tree) Persea Phytolacca

Plantago Prunus[6] Pyrostegia Ricinus Robinia Salix (willow)[6] Syringa (lilac) Taraxacum (dandelion)[6] Viola[6]

Gallery

• 
  Larval stage
• 
  Caterpillar in typical defensive ball
• 
  Caterpillar with typical red stripes
• 
  Head of a caterpillar
• 
  Closeup of head and thorax
• 
  Closeup showing iridescent blue spots
• 
  Closeup of newly eclosed moth
• 
  Showing the old skin, empty pupal shell, and adult moth
• 
  Last image at night before it flew off once wings dried
• 
  Wings spread, displaying abdomen colors
• 
  Close-up while wings upswept
• 
  The moment before take-off
• 
  A female giant leopard moth after mating
• 
  A female taking off

References

1. Poole, Robert W.; Patricia Gentili (1996). "Hypercompe scribonia". NatureServe. Archived from the original on 10 December 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
2. [1] Distribution map at DiscoverLife
3. Fearnley, Kirstin (29 July 2016). "Weird & Wonderful Creatures: Giant Leopard Moth". Science NetLinks. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
4. Fullard, James H. & Napoleone, Nadia (2001). Diel flight periodicity and the evolution of auditory defences in the Macrolepidoptera. Animal Behaviour 62(2): 349–368. doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1753 PDF fulltext Archived 15 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Studies of Trees".
6. "Field Guide: Giant Leopard Moth". Missouri Department of Conservation. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
7. Scoble, M.J. (1995). The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity. Natural History Museum publications. Natural History Museum. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-19-854952-9.

External links

• Hilton Pond Center
• Entweb
• Species Hypercompe scribonia – giant leopard moth - Hodges#8146, BugGuide