Biology:Hypercompe ocularia

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Short description: Species of moth


Ocularia leopard
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae
Genus: Hypercompe
Species:
H. ocularia
Binomial name
Hypercompe ocularia
(Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
  • Bombyx ocularia Fabricius, 1775
  • Ecpantheria cyaneator Walker, [1865]
  • Ecpantheria columbina Oberthür, 1881
  • Ecpantheria distans Oberthür, 1881

Hypercompe ocularia, the ocularia leopard, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775.[1]

Description

This moth is a translucent-white colour, patterned with numerous brown, oval rings on the forewings.[1]

Distribution

It is found in Colombia,[2] Peru and Ecuador. This is a cloud-forest species found at elevations between about 200–1000 m.[1]

Biology

Moths of the genus Hypercompe are noxious to birds and exhibit warning colouration. When approached by a bird, these moths expose a coloured abdomen and exude noxious fluids as a defence mechanism.[1]

References

Wikidata ☰ Q13310746 entry