Acsala

Acsala is a monotypic genus of lichen moth in the monotypic subtribe Acsalina of the family Erebidae. Its single species, Acsala anomala, has Hodges number 8104.1[1] and is known from the US (Alaska) and Canada (Yukon).[2]

Acsala
Acsala anomala
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae
Subtribe: Acsalina
Genus: Acsala
Benjamin, 1935
Species:
A. anomala
Binomial name
Acsala anomala
Benjamin, 1935

Behavior

Eggs are deposited in a single layer on the underside of rocks, in batches of up to thirty, and take eight to ten days to hatch.[3] Larvae feed on rock-growing lichens, with a strong preference for black foliose and crustose lichens.[3] Species of Buellia, Lecidea, Orphniospora, Parmelia and Umbilicaria have been recorded as food sources.[2][3]

Adult males possess weak flight and are day-active; females are flightless and spend much of their time under rocks.[3]

Appearance

Freshly laid eggs are red-orange, and later turn pale orange.[3] Larvae have barbed setae.[3] Adult males have broad wings with a wingspan of 27–28 mm, while adult females possess narrow (“stenopterous”) wings.[2] Wing venation is variable.[3]

Taxonomy

Acsala anomala and its genus were both first described by Foster H. Benjamin in 1935.[4][5] Subtribe Acsalina was introduced in 1983 by Franclemont, but remained a nomen nudum until a formal description was given in 1999 by Amel Bendib and Joël Minet.[2]

References
  1. "Acsala anomala – 8104.1". North American Moth Photographers Group. Mississippi Entomological Museum. Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  2. Bendib, Amel; Minet, Joël (1 September 1999). "Lithosiine main lineages and their possible interrelationships. I. - Definition of new or resurrected tribes (Lepidoptera : Arctiidae)". Annales de la Société entomologique de France. 35 (3). Retrieved 29 April 2023.
  3. Lafontaine, J. Donald; Franclemont, John G. & Ferguson, Douglas C. (1982). "Classification and Life History of Acsala anomala (Arctiidae: Lithosiinae)" (PDF). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 36 (3): 218–226.
  4. Benjamin, Foster H. (1935). "A New Genus and Species from Alaska (Lepid., Arctiidae, Nyctemerinae". The Canadian Entomologist. 67 (9): 195–197. doi:10.4039/Ent67195-9. S2CID 84694446.
  5. Savela, Markku. "Acsala Benjamin, 1935". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
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