Eudocima materna
| Dot-underwing | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male | |
 | |
| Female | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Eudocima |
| Species: | E. materna |
| Binomial name | |
| Eudocima materna Linnaeus, 1767 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The Dot-underwing moth,[1] (Eudocima materna), known as [2] is a moth of the family Noctuidae found in large parts of the world, mainly in tropical Asia extending to New Guinea and Australia.[3] Reports from the United States, Canada and the French Antilles are now considered to be Eudocima apta. Like his common name, the species can clearly identified by other Eudocima moths, by the presence of small central black dot in each hind wing.
Description
The wingspan is about 60-96 mm. Palpi with third joint long and spatulate at extremity. Fore wings with crenulate cilia in both sexes. Male has greenish grey head and thorax. Abdomen orange. Fore wings with greenish grey with very numerous faint striated reddish lines. There are three rufous spots can be seen at end of cell. A dark oblique line from near apex to center of inner margin. A silvery patch found on vein 1 and another below lower angle of cell. A marginal black band with crenulate inner edge. There is a series of white cilia spots. Ventral side is orange. Fore wings with costa and apical area blotched with rufous. Oblique postmedial and sub-apical black bands can be seen. Hind wings with apical area blotched with rufous color. A black spot found on costa and another beyond lower angle of cell. A marginal black band runs from vein 5 to anal angle.[4]
Female with much more prominently striated with rufous colored fore wings. The silvery patches found below and beyond cell very large and conjoined crossed by white streaks above vein 2 and beyond cell.
Ecology
The caterpillars are known to feed on Cocculus, Lycopersicon, Malus pumila, Mangifera indica, Musa × paradisiaca, Tinospora caffra, Vitus, Dioscoreophyllum cumminsii, Rhigiocarya racemifera, and Tiliacora.[2]
The larvae feed on Menispermaceae species, including Tinospora smilacina and Legnephora moorei. It is considered a pest on citrus and other fruit, which it damages by piercing the fruit with its proboscis in order to suck the juice.[5]
Some older authors have considered Eudocima apta as a synonym of E. materna but more recent workers consider apta as a New World species that is very similar in appearance to materna. Eudocima apta (Walker, [1858]) = Eudocima materna of authors, not Linnaeus, 1767. Previous authorshave incorrectly listed apta as a synonym of materna . Eudocima materna (Linnaeus, 1767) is not a synonym of apta , but is its Old World counterpart. A simple visual comparison of Old World materna (L.) and New World apta (Walker) reveals the obvious differences of the two species in both sexes. Zilli and Hogenes (2002) report " Eudocima apta (Walker,[1858]) sp. rev. is considered a distinct species from Eudocima materna (Linnaeus, 1767)" and they also report genitalic differences between the two species, most notably in the bursa.
Gallery
-
from Palakkad - Kalpathy, Kerala
-
Female, dorsal view
-
Female, ventral view
-
Male, dorsal view
-
Male, ventral view
-
Larva
-
Fifth istar larva
.jpg)
References
- ↑ Hill, Mike. "The dot underwing Eudocima materna (Linnaeus, 1767) (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) in Seychelles" (PDF). islandbiodiversity.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- 1 2 "Eudocima materna, (Linnaeus, 1767)". African Moths. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ↑ "Eudocima materna (Linnaeus, 1767)". list of Noctuidae. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ↑ Hampson G. F. (1892). "The Fauna Of British India Including Ceylon And Burma Moths Vol-ii". Digital Library of India. p. 558. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ↑ "Eudocima materna (Linnaeus, 1767)". Butterfly House. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ↑ Brou Jr., Vernon. "A New US Record for the tropical fruit-piercing moth Eudocima serpentifera (Walker, 1858)". Academia. Retrieved 15 October 2015.