Drepana arcuata

Drepana arcuata, the arched hooktip or masked birch caterpillar, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1855.[1] It is found from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, south to at least North Carolina, South Carolina and California.

Drepana arcuata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Drepanidae
Genus:
Drepana
Species:
D. arcuata
Binomial name
Drepana arcuata
Walker, 1855
Synonyms
  • Drepana fabula (Grote, 1862)
  • Drepana genicula (Grote, 1862)
  • Drepana grotei Barnes & Benjamin, 1922
  • Drepana arcuata siculifer Packard, 1872
  • Drepana arcuata alaskensis Barnes & Benjamin, 1922

The wingspan is 24–40 millimetres (0.94–1.57 in). Adults are on wing from mid-May through late-July. There is one generation per year in the north.

The larvae feed on Betula papyrifera and Alnus species, which they may use as a medium to communicate. Sound is produced by shaking their bodies, drumming and scraping their mouthparts, or dragging specialised anal "oars" against the surface of a leaf. Larvae build communal silk shelters and the sounds may attract other larva to the shelter.[2]

References
  1. "Species Page - Drepana arcuata". Entomology Collection. University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  2. "Musical caterpillars 'drum' with anus". New Scientist. 233 (3115): 19. 4 March 2017.


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