Watsonarctia

Watsonarctia is a monotypic moth genus in the subfamily Arctiinae erected by Josef J. de Freina and Thomas Joseph Witt in 1984. Its only species, Watsonarctia deserta, the chaste pellicle, was first described by Max Bartel in 1902.[1] It is found in central and south-eastern Europe, southern Russia, southern Siberia east to Lake Baikal; also in Asia Minor, Armenia, Azerbaijan, northern Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyzstan and Xinjiang in China.[2]

Watsonarctia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Erebidae
Subfamily:
Arctiinae
Tribe:
Spilosomini
Genus:
Watsonarctia

de Freina & Witt, 1984
Species:
W. deserta
Binomial name
Watsonarctia deserta
(Bartel, 1902)
Type species
Arctia casta deserta
Bartel, 1902
Synonyms

Generic

  • Eucastana Leraut, 1985
  • Eurachia Dubatolov, 1985

Specific

  • Phalaena (Bombyx) casta Esper, 1784, preoccupied
  • Eucharia deserta
  • Arctia casta deserta Bartel, 1902
  • Phragmatobia esperi Koçak, 1980
  • Eucharia casta sibirica Koshantschikov, 1924
  • Watsonarctia callesi Gómez Bustillo, 1979

The wingspan is 26–32 mm.

The larvae feed on Asperula, Achillea and Galium species (including Galium verum and Galium odoratum).

Subspecies
  • Watsonarctia deserta deserta (Bartel, 1902) (southern and central Europe, Caucasus, north-western Kazakhstan, southern Siberia, northern Mongolia)
  • Watsonarctia deserta karduchena (de Freina, 1983) (Anatolia)
  • Watsonarctia deserta centralasiae (O. Bang-Haas, 1927) (mountains of eastern Kazakhstan, Xinjiang, eastern Tien Shan)
  • Watsonarctia deserta elbursica Dubatolov & Zahiri, 2005 (northern Iran)

References
  1. Mazzei, Paolo; Morel, Daniel & Panfili, Raniero "Watsonarctia deserta (Bartel, 1902)". Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  2. Savela, Markku. "Watsonarctia de Freina & Witt, 1984". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
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