Amerila

Amerila is a genus of moths in the subfamily Arctiinae. A number of species in this genus have a special defence mechanism when they are in their adult stage. When disturbed, they exude a frothy yellow fluid from glands beside the eyes, while making a sizzling noise to ward off their attacker. Similar behaviour has been observed in fertilised females of the North-American moth Utetheisa ornatrix.

Amerila
Amerila crokeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae
Tribe: Amerilini
Dubatolov, 2010
Genus: Amerila
Walker, 1855
Synonyms
  • Euthoracia Hulstaert, 1923
  • Canopus Walker, 1855
  • Phryganeomorpha Wallengren, 1858
  • Amblythyris Mabille, 1879
  • Gastrochrysia Kiriakoff, 1954

The genus is placed in a monotypic tribe Amerilini, described by Vladimir Viktorovitch Dubatolov in 2010. They are sometimes (e.g. in the "Erebidae" scheme) incorrectly merged into the Phaegopterini, but morphologically the tribe is related to Callimorphini. The elder name Rhodogastriini Kiriakoff, 1950 was based on incorrectly determined genus Rhodogastria (=Amerila in modern sense).

Species

Incorrectly placed species

Note

Caryatis species are not morphologically related to Amerila.

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References
  • Dubatolov, V.V., 2009: Reviewing the African tiger-moth genera: 1. A new genus, two new subgenera and a species list from the expedition to Malawi by V. Kovtunovich & P. Ustjuzhanin in 2008-2009, with further taxonomic notes on South African Arctiinae. Atalanta 40 (1-2): 285-301.
  • Dubatolov, V.V., 2010: Tiger-moths of Eurasia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) (Nyctemerini by Rob de Vos & Vladimir V. Dubatolov). Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 65: 1-106, Marktleuthen.
  • Goodger, D.T. & Watson, A., 1995: The Afrotropical Tiger-Moths. An illustrated catalogue, with generic diagnosis and species distribution, of the Afrotropical Arctiinae (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae): 1-55, Apollo Books Aps.: Stenstrup, Denmark.
  • Edwards, E.D., 1996: Arctiidae: 278-286, 368-370. In: Nielsen, E., Edwards, E., Rangsi T., Edwards E.D., Nielsen E.S. & Rangsi, T.V. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera 4: xiv+529, CSIRO: Melbourne.
  • Häuser, Ch. L. & Boppre, M., 1997: A revision of the Afrotropical taxa of the genus Amerila Walker (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). Systematic Entomology 22 (1): 1-44.
  • Kôda, N., 1989: A Generic Classification of the Subfamily Arctiinae of the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions based on the Male and Female Genitalia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) Part I. Tyô to Ga 38 (3): 153-237. Abstract and full article: .
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