Nine-spotted moth

Nine-spotted moth
Adult male of Amata phegea
Caterpillar of Amata phegea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Subtribe: Ctenuchina
Genus: Amata
Species: A. phegea
Binomial name
Amata phegea
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
  • Sphinx phegea Linnaeus, 1758
  • Syntomis phegea (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Sphinx ligata Allioni, 1766
  • Zygaena quercus Fabricius, 1793
  • Sphinx iphimedia Esper, [1804]
  • Spinx cloelia Esper, 1783
  • Spinx cloelia Esper, [1804]
  • Syntomis phegea bessarabica Stauder, 1924
  • Amata phegea bessarabica nat. kijevana Obraztsov, 1936
  • Amata (Syntomis) phegea phegea nat. ukrainica Obraztsov, 1966
  • Syntomis phegea orientalis Daniel, 1950

The nine-spotted moth (Amata phegea) is a moth in the family Erebidae ("tiger moths").

It reaches a wing span of 35–40 millimetres (1.4–1.6 in). Its wings are blueish black with white spots. A further feature is the prominent yellow ring at the abdomen. The black antennae have white tips.

Similar-looking moths include Amata ragazzii (Turati, 1917) and Zygaena ephialtes (Linnaeus, 1758). Z. ephialtes is in the family Zygaenidae and is unpalatable to birds; the nine-spotted moth imitates its appearance (mimicry).

The nine-spotted moth is chiefly found in southern Europe but also seen up to northern Germany, and in the East to Anatolia and the Caucasus, and there are some populations in the South-Eastern Dutch nature reserves "Leudal" and "De Meinweg" The species prefers drier areas, open ranges with shrubs and trees as well as open forests and slopes.

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