Utetheisa lotrix
Encyclopedia
The Crotalaria Moth is a moth
of the Arctiidae
family. It is found in most of the old world tropics.
The wingspan
is about 30 mm.
The larvae feed on Crotalaria
species.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Arctiidae
Arctiidae
Arctiidae is a large and diverse family of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species. This family includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths , which usually have bright colours, footmen , lichen moths and wasp moths...
family. It is found in most of the old world tropics.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is about 30 mm.
The larvae feed on Crotalaria
Crotalaria
Crotalaria is a genus of herbaceous plants and woody shrubs in the Family Fabaceae commonly known as rattlepods. Some 600 or more species of Crotalaria are described worldwide, mostly from the tropics; at least 500 species are known from Africa. Some species of Crotalaria are grown as ornamentals...
species.
Subspecies
- Utetheisa lotrix lotrix (southern Iran, Pakistan, India, Seychelles, Sri-Lanka, China, Japan, New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand)
- Utetheisa lotrix stigmata (Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, New Hebrides, Fiji, Solomons, W.Samoa, Tonga, Niue)
- Utetheisa lotrix lepida (Madagascar, La Réunion)
- Utetheisa lotrix socotrensis (Socotra Island)