Asota speciosa

Asota speciosa, the specious tiger, formerly Aganais speciosa, is a moth of the subfamily Aganainae, now regarded as being within the family Erebidae. Formerly it was regarded variously as a member of the Arctiidae, the Hypsidae, and subsequently the family Aganaidae, which was formerly regarded as a family by some authorities.[1][2] The species is found in Sierra Leone, Mozambique, South Africa and Togo.

Specious tiger
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Erebidae
Subfamily:
Aganainae
Genus:
Asota
Species:
A. speciosa
Binomial name
Asota speciosa
(Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena speciosa Drury, 1773
  • Aganais speciosa (Drury, 1773)
  • Aganais aphidas Hopffer, 1858
  • Aganais conspicua Swinhoe, 1903
  • Pseudhypsa baumanniana Karsch, 1895
  • Hypsa subretracta Walker, 1856
  • Hypsa undulifera Walker, 1856
  • Aganais unicolor Rothschild, 1896

The larvae feed on certain latex-rich plants, mainly Ficus species, both indigenous and domestic, but also on poisonous Acokanthera species.[3] They sabotage the latex defences of their host plants by biting partway through the midrib, severing the latex vessels before proceeding to feed on the leaf blade.[4]

References
  1. Zahiri, Reza; et al. (2011). "Molecular phylogenetics of Erebidae (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea)". Systematic Entomology. 37: 102–124. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2011.00607.x.
  2. Lafontaine, Donald; Schmidt, Christian (19 Mar 2010). "Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico". ZooKeys. 40: 26. doi:10.3897/zookeys.40.414.
  3. Alan Weaving; Mike Picker; Griffiths, Charles Llewellyn (2003). Field Guide to Insects of South Africa. New Holland Publishers, Ltd. ISBN 1-86872-713-0.
  4. COMPTON, S.G. 1987. Aganais speciosa and Danaus chrysippus (Lepidoptera) sabotage the latex defences of their host plants. Ecological Entomology 12: 115-118


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