ZYGAENIDAE

(Redirected from Forester Moth)


The 'Zygaenidae' are a family of Lepidoptera (moths) typically day-flying with a slow fluttering flight, and with rather clubbed antennae. They generally have a metallic sheen and often prominent spots of red or yellow. The bright colours are a warning to predators that the moths are distasteful - they contain hydrogen cyanide throughout all stages of their life-cycle. Unlike most insects with such toxins, they manufacture these themselves rather than obtaining them from host plants (Scoble 1992). They are known to have mimicry complexes based on these toxins (Naumann et al., 1999).
Larvae are stout and may be flattened. Most feed on herbaceous plants, although some are vine or tree feeders. A fleshy extension of the thorax covers the head. Most feed on herbaceous plants, but there are some tree-feeders. Larvae in two subfamilies, Chalcosiinae and Zygaeninae, have cavities in which they store the cyanide, and can excrete it as defensive droplets (Niehuis et al., 2006)
The majority of Zygaenids are tropical, but they are nevertheless quite well represented in temperate regions. There are about 1000 species. Various species are commonly known as 'Burnet' or 'Forester' moths, often qualified by the number of spots, although other families also have 'foresters'. They are also sometimes called 'Smoky moths'.
==Selected taxa==
'Genera ''incertae sedis'' include:

★ ''Acoloithus''

★ ''Harrisina''

★ ''Pyromorpha''

★ ''Reissita''

★ ''Seryda''

★ ''Tetraclonia''

★ ''Triprocris''
'Pest species' include:

★ Almond-tree leaf skeletonizer moth (''Aglaope infausta'')

★ Vine bud moth (''Theresimima ampellophaga'')

★ Grapeleaf Skeletonizer (''Harrisina americana'')
10 Species are found 'in the UK':

★ Scarce Forester ''(Adscita globulariae)''

★ Cistus Forester ''(Adscita geryon)''

★ Forester ''(Adscita statices)''

★ Scotch Burnet ''(Zygaena exulans)''

★ Slender Scotch Burnet ''(Zygaena loti)''

★ New Forest Burnet ''(Zygaena viciae)''

★ Six-spot Burnet ''(Zygaena filipendulae)''

★ Five-spot Burnet ''(Zygaena trifolii)''

★ Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet ''(Zygaena lonicerae)''

★ Transparent Burnet ''(Zygaena purpuralis)''
'Africa'n species include:

★ Fire Grid Burnet ''(Arniocera erythopyga)''

Contents

References

External links

References

★ Naumann, CM, GM Tarmann and WG Tremewan, 1999. The Western Palaearctic Zygaenidae, Apollo Books.

★ Niehuis, O, SH Yen, CM Naumann, and B Misof, 2006. Higher phylogeny of zygaenid moths (Insecta : Lepidoptera) inferred from nuclear and mitochondrial sequence data and the evolution of larval cuticular cavities for chemical defence. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39 (3): 812-829.

★ Scoble, 1992. The Lepidoptera: Form, function and diversity. Oxford Univ. Press.

External links

★ Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa - Zygaenidae - lots of pictures of species