Arctia testudinaria, or Patton's tiger, is a moth of the family Erebidae. It was described by Geoffroy in 1785. It is found from northern Spain to southern and central France and southern Switzerland to north-eastern and southern Italy. It has also been recorded from Great Britain.[1] The habitat consists of grasslands, slopes, forest edges, clear dry forests, cliffs and mountain slopes, maquis, garrigues and dry meadows.[2]
| Patton's tiger | |
|---|---|
| |
| Male - Bolzano, Italy | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Erebidae |
| Subfamily: | Arctiinae |
| Genus: | Arctia |
| Species: | A. testudinaria
|
| Binomial name | |
| Arctia testudinaria (Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785)
| |
| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 35–45 mm.[3] Adults are on wing in May and July.
The larvae feed on various low-growing plants, including Plantago, Rumex, Achillea, Euphorbia cyparissias, Potentilla, Hieracium, Taraxacum, Cynoglossum, Deschampsia, Calamagrostis.[4] The species overwinters in the larval stage. Pupation often takes place under flat stones.
This species, along with the others of the genus Hyphoraia, was moved to Arctia as a result of phylogenetic research published by Rönkä et al. in 2016.[5]
References
edit- ^ Patton's tiger on UKMoths
- ^ Lepidoptera and Their Ecology
- ^ Hants Moths
- ^ Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
- ^ Rönkä, Katja; Mappes, Johanna; Kaila, Lauri; Wahlberg, Niklas (2016). "Putting Parasemia in its phylogenetic place: a molecular analysis of the subtribe Arctiina (Lepidoptera)". Systematic Entomology. 41 (4): 844–853. doi:10.1111/syen.12194. hdl:10138/176841.
- Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul. "Search results Family: Arctiidae". Butterflies and Moths of the World. Natural History Museum, London.
External links
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