Nyctemera coleta

White tiger moth
	Nyctemera coleta in Kerala, India
	On flower with wings open
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Erebidae
Subfamily:	Arctiinae
Genus:	Nyctemera
Species:	N. coleta
Binomial name
	Nyctemera coleta; (Stoll, 1782)
Synonyms
	Phalaena coleta Stoll, 1782; Nyctemera nigrovenosa Moore, 1879;

Nyctemera coleta, commonly known as the White tiger moth, is a species of moth found from India to the Philippines, and from Japan to Papua New Guinea. It is classified under the subgenus Coleta of the genus Nyctemera in the family Arctiidae. It contains four subspecies:^[1]

Description

Male with a large tuft of hair arising from the base of tibia of fore leg. Differs from Nyctemera tripunctaria in the lower three spots of the post-medial band of fore wing being separated and having another spot below them towards outer angle. Cilia white below the apex and at outer angle. Hind wing with the cilia white below the apex, and in most specimens at anal angle. The Sri Lankan subspecies has black veins 3 and 4 of hind wing and the spots of the postmedial band of fore wing are smaller than other subspecies.

Larva hairy and purplish. Anterior somites yellowish. Each somite is black and marked with short dorsal and lateral white streaks. Pupa yellowish and spotted with black.^[2]

Subspecies

Nyctemera coleta coleta (Malacca, Singapore, Sumatra, Java)
Nyctemera coleta melaneura (Butler, 1883) (Nias)
Nyctemera coleta melas Röber, 1891 (Seram, Bangai, Moluccas)
Nyctemera coleta nigrovenosa Moore, 1879 (Sri Lanka)

References

^ Peter Smetacek (2010). "Subspecific status of the southern Indian population of Nyctemera coleta (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)" (PDF). Journal of Threatened Taxa. 2 (4): 835–836. doi:10.11609/jott.o2417.835-6.
^ Hampson G. F. (1892). "The Fauna Of British India Including Ceylon And Burma Moths Vol-ii". Digital Library of India. p. 558. Retrieved 4 July 2016.

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[smet-1] Peter Smetacek (2010). "Subspecific status of the southern Indian population of Nyctemera coleta (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)" (PDF). Journal of Threatened Taxa. 2 (4): 835–836. doi:10.11609/jott.o2417.835-6.

[2] Hampson G. F. (1892). "The Fauna Of British India Including Ceylon And Burma Moths Vol-ii". Digital Library of India. p. 558. Retrieved 4 July 2016.

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