Milkweed tiger moth
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae
Genus: Euchaetes
Species:
E. egle
Binomial name
Euchaetes egle
(Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena egle Drury, 1773
  • Euchaetes egle f. cyclica H. Edwards, 1883

Euchaetes egle, the milkweed tiger moth or milkweed tussock moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae and the tribe Arctiini, the tiger moths. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. It is a common mid- through late summer feeder on milkweeds and dogbane. Like most species in this family, it has chemical defenses it acquires from its host plants, in this case, cardiac glycosides.[1] These are retained in adults and deter bats, and presumably other predators, from feeding on them.[2] Only very high cardiac glycoside concentrations deterred bats as predators.[2] Adults indicate their unpalatability to bats with ultrasonic clicks from their tymbal organs.[3]

Range

It is found from southern Canada and south through Texas and Florida in North America.[4]

Lifecycle

One generation per year occurs in the north, and two or more may occur in the south.[4]

Egg

Females lay eggs in masses on the undersides of leaves.

Larva

Early instars appear slightly hairy and gray. They skeletonize whole leaves gregariously, leaving lacy leaf remnants. They are gregarious until their third instar. Later instars sport tufts of black, white and orange (sometimes yellow) setae (hairs). The head capsule is black. The later instars wander much more, and may appear alone or in groups of up to 10. Mature caterpillars occur from June onwards.[4] Larvae grow as long as 35 mm.

Pupa (cocoon removed)

Pupa

The gray cocoon is felted, with hairs from the larvae, and overwinters (Wagner, 2005).

Adults

Wings are grayish. Abdomens are hairy and yellow, each with a row of black dots on its dorsum. Males use their tymbal organs in calling females and in defense against bats.[5]

Food plants

This moth frequently uses milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) and sometimes dogbane (Apocynum spp.) as larval host plants. Larvae often feed on older milkweed shoots, and seldom share shoots with monarchs (Danaus plexippus), which prefer younger ones.[4]

Dogbanes and milkweeds produce a sticky latex that can impede larval feeding. Early instars avoid the veins by skeletonizing the leaves. Older larvae sever the veins that supply the latex, which reduces latex flow to the area on which they feed.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Weller, S. J., Jacobsen, N. L. & Conner, W. E. (1999). "The evolution of chemical defenses and mating systems in tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 68 :557–578.
  2. 1 2 Hristov, N. L. & Conner, W. E. (2005). "Effectiveness of tiger moth (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) chemical defenses against an insectivorous bat (Eptesicus fuscus)". Chemoecology. 15 (2): 105–113.
  3. ↑ Nickolay; Hristov; Connor, William E (2021). "Sound strategy: acoustic aposematism in the bat-tiger moth arms race". Naturwissenschaften. 2005 (Apr): 164–169. doi:10.1007/s00114-005-0611-7.
  4. 1 2 3 4
    • Wagner, D. L. (2005). Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press.
  5. ↑ Simmons, R. B. & Conner, W. E. (1996). "Acoustic cues in defense and courtship of Euchaetes egle Drury and E. bolteri Stretch (Lep., Arctiidae)". Journal of Insect Behavior. 9: 909–919.
  6. ↑ Dussourd, D. E. & Denno, R. F. (1991). "Deactivation of plant defense: Correspondence between insect behavior and secretory canal architecture". Ecology. 72 (4): 1383–1396.
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