Apantesis incorrupta

Apantesis incorrupta is an arctiine moth in the family Erebidae,[1] described by Henry Edwards in 1881. It is found from southern Colorado and south-eastern Kansas south through Arizona, New Mexico and western Texas into Mexico and west to south-eastern California. The habitat consists of grasslands and open woodlands.

Apantesis incorrupta
Apantesis incorrupta on hand
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae
Genus: Apantesis
Species:
A. incorrupta
Binomial name
Apantesis incorrupta
(H. Edwards, 1881)
Synonyms
  • Grammia incorrupta (H. Edwards, 1881)
  • Arctia incorrupta H. Edwards, 1881
  • Arctia nevadensis var. sulphurica Neumoegen, 1885
  • Arctia ochracea Neumoegen, 1883 (preocc. Stretch, 1872)
  • Grammia geneura

The length of the forewings is about 18.6 mm. The hindwings are pink to yellowish pink. There are two generations per year with adults on wing from late April to early October.[2]

The larvae feed on a wide range of herbaceous, flowering plants, including Fallugia paradoxa.[3][4]

Recent research[5] has shown that the larvae of Grammia incorrupta consume alkaloid-laden leaves that help fight off internal parasitic fly larvae. This phenomenon is said to be "the first clear demonstration of self-medication among insects".

This species was formerly a member of the genus Grammia, but was moved to Apantesis along with the other species of the genera Grammia, Holarctia, and Notarctia.[6][7]

References
  1. Schmidt, B. Christian (2008). "Widespread decoupling of mtDNA variation and species integrity in Grammia tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)". Systematic Entomology. 33 (4): 613–634. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2008.00433.x. S2CID 85071146.
  2. Schmidt, B.C. (2009). "Taxonomic revision of the genus Grammia Rambur (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Arctiinae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 156 (3): 507–597. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2008.00496.x.
  3. BugGuide
  4. Singer, M. (2001). "How foraging tactics determine host-plant use by a polyphagous caterpillar". Oecologia. 129 (1): 98–105. Bibcode:2001Oecol.129...98S. doi:10.1007/s004420100707. PMID 28547072. S2CID 26006397.
  5. Singer, MS; Mace, KC; Bernays, EA (2009). "Self-Medication as Adaptive Plasticity: Increased Ingestion of Plant Toxins by Parasitized Caterpillars". PLOS ONE. 4 (3): e4796. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.4796S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0004796. PMC 2652102. PMID 19274098.
  6. 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.
  7. Schmidt, B. Christian; Lafontaine, J. Donald; Troubridge, James T. (2018). "Additions and corrections to the check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico IV". ZooKeys (252): 241–252. doi:10.3897/zookeys.252.28500. PMC 6189224. PMID 30337831.
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