Utetheisa is a genus of tiger mothss in the family Erebidae. The genus was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1819.

Description

Palpi porrect (extending forward), extending beyond the frons. Antennae ciliated. Forewings long and narrow, where the outer margin is short and somewhat erect. Vein 3 from before angle of cell. Veins 4 and 5 from angle, vein 6 from upper angle and vein 7 to 10 from a short areole. Hindwing with vein 5 from above angle of cell. Vein 6 and 7 from upper angle and vein 8 from middle of cell.

Caterpillars of many Utetheisa species feed on Crotalaria (rattlebox), and hence the genus as a whole is often called rattlebox moths. The adults usually have bright aposematic coloration and contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are used as a chemical defense and are also incorporated into the sex pheromones of the males.

Taxonomy

The members of its subgenera Pitasila, Atasca, and Raanya were formerly included in Nyctemera. Utetheisa is placed in the tribe Callimorphina or in the Nyctemerina; some treatments merge the two subtribes.

Utetheisa is monophyletic.

Selected species

Species of Utetheisa include:

Subgenus Utetheisa

• Utetheisa amhara Jordan, 1939

• Utetheisa antennata Swinhoe, 1893

• Utetheisa clareae Robinson, 1971

• Utetheisa connerorum Roque-Albelo & Landry, 2009

• Utetheisa cruentata (Butler, 1881)

• Utetheisa devriesi Hayes, 1975

• Utetheisa diva (Mabille, 1879)

Utetheisa elata (Fabricius, 1798)

• Utetheisa elata fatela Jordan, 1939

• Utetheisa elata fatua Heyn, 1906

• Utetheisa galapagensis (Wallengren, 1860)

• Utetheisa henrii Roque-Albelo & Landry, 2009

Utetheisa lactea (Butler, 1884)

• Utetheisa lactea aldabrensis T. B. Fletcher, 1910

• Utetheisa lotrix (Cramer, [1777]) crotalaria moth

• Utetheisa maddisoni Robinson & Robinson, 1980

• Utetheisa ornatrix (Linnaeus, 1758) ornate moth, bella moth

• Utetheisa pectinata

• Utetheisa perryi Hayes, 1975

• Utetheisa pulchella (Linnaeus, 1758) crimson-speckled flunkey

• Utetheisa pulchelloides Hampson, 1907 heliotrope moth (syn: Utetheisa dorsifumata Prout, 1920)

• Utetheisa salomonis

• Utetheisa semara Moore, 1860

• Utetheisa sumatrana Rothschild, 1910

Subgenus Atasca

• Utetheisa aegrotum (Swinhoe, 1892)

• Utetheisa albilinea De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa amboina De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa amosa (Swinhoe, 1903)

• Utetheisa ampatica De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa aruensis De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa bouruana (Swinhoe, 1917)

• Utetheisa ceramensis De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa externa (Swinhoe, 1917)

• Utetheisa frosti (Prout, 1918)

• Utetheisa pellex (Linnaeus, 1758)

• Utetheisa separata (Walker, 1864)

• Utetheisa watubela De Vos, 2007

Subgenus Raanya

Utetheisa albipuncta (Druce, 1888)

• Utetheisa albipuncta zoilides (Prout, 1920)

Subgenus Pitasila

• Utetheisa assamica De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa abraxoides (Walker, 1862)

• Utetheisa balinensis De Vos, 2007

Utetheisa disrupta (Butler, 1887)

• Utetheisa disrupta burica (Holland, 1900)

• Utetheisa distincta (Swinhoe, 1903) (syn: Utetheisa sangira (Swinhoe, 1903))

• Utetheisa inconstans (Butler, 1880) (syn: Utetheisa okinawensis (Inoue, 1982))

• Utetheisa flavothoracica De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa fractifascia (Wileman, 1911)

• Utetheisa guttulosa (Walker, 1864)

• Utetheisa latifascia (Hopffer, 1874)

• Utetheisa leucospilota (Moore, 1877)

• Utetheisa limbata (Roepke, 1949)

• Utetheisa mendax De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa nivea De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa pala (Röber, 1891)

• Utetheisa selecta (Walker, 1854)

Utetheisa specularis (Walker, 1856) (syn: Utetheisa macklotti (Vollenhoven, 1863))

• Utetheisa specularis extendens De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa specularis oroya (Swinhoe, 1903)

• Utetheisa timorensis (Roepke, 1954)

• Utetheisa transiens (Jurriaanse & Lindemans, 1919)

• Utetheisa vandenberghi (Nieuwenhuis, 1948)

• Utetheisa varians (Walker, 1854)

• Utetheisa variolosa (Felder & Rogenhofer, [1869] 1874)

• Utetheisa vollenhovii (Snellen, 1890)

• Utetheisa witti De Vos, 2007

• Utetheisa ypsilon De Vos, 2007

References

Further reading

• , 1939: On the constancy and variability of the differences between the Old World species of Utetheisa (Lepid.; Arctiidae). Novitates Zoologicae 41: 251–291, London and Aylesbury.

• , [1967] 1966: Records of the arctiid genus Utetheisa in New Zealand. New Zealand Entomologist 3 (5): 3–4.

• , 1971: The genus Utetheisa Hübner in Fiji with description of a new species (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 83 (5): 123–130.

• , 1974: Notes on the genus Utetheisa Hübner (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) in the Western Pacific with larval descriptions. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 86 (5–6): 160–163.

• , 1979-1980: Further observations on the species of Utetheisa Hübner (Lep.: Arctiidae) in the Western and Central Pacific, with the description of a new species from Niue Island. The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 91 (10): 270–273; 91 (11–12): 319–322, pl. 9; 92 (1): 13-16.

• , 1941: On the Javanese species of the genus Utetheisa Hb. (Lep. Het., fam. Arctiidae). Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 84: 1–9, 4 figs., Amsterdam.