Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Euchaetes elegans Stretch, [1874]
Cycnia elegans
Pygarctia elegans
* Pygarctia roseicapitis and Pygarctia flavidorsalis were once treated as forms of elegans but later elevated to species level by Barnes, 1921.
Phylogenetic sequence #930411.00
Explanation of Names
Specific epithet is Latin meaning "elegant."
Size
Forewing length 16-18 mm, females larger than males.
(1)
Larva to 28 mm (Comstock & Dammers, 1936).
Pupa 14 mm (Comstock & Dammers, 1936).
Identification
Adult - sexually dimorphic. In males the dorsal abdomen is entirely crimson while in females the last segment is white.
Range
sw US (CA to w. TX) -
Map (MPG)
(1)
Type locality: Owen's Valley, California.
Season
Adults fly July through September.
Food
Larvae feed on milkweeds, including a broad-leaved
Asclepias (Comstock & Dammers, 1936).
Life Cycle
About 100 eggs are laid in a single mass on a milkweed leaf and covered in white scales from the mother's abdomen. Early instar larvae feed communally. Later instars will snap their heads side to side and sometimes drop to the ground when threatened. Pupation is on the host plant in a silken cocoon which incorporates the larval hairs. Adults often play dead when handled, with wings held high at a steep angle and abdomen curled downward. This behavior exposes the brilliant crimson dorsal abdomen, normally hidden by the wings, and perhaps is used as a warning to potential predators that they are distasteful, or even toxic, as many milkweed-feeding insects are known to be (notes from rearings featured below).
See Also
Pygarctia roseicapitis has black antennae and the wings have a glossy sheen while
E. elegans has white-to-pale-grayish antennae and the wings are dull.
Euchaetes egle larvae are similar but perhaps more densely and brightly haired.
Print References
Comstock, J.A. & C.A. Dammers. 1936. Notes on the early stages of five moths from southern California.
Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 35(2):
99, pl.24-26
Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. pl.48.11f, p.272
Stretch, R.H. 1873. Arctiinae. Illustrations of the Zygaenidae & Bombycidae of North America 1 (1-9):
p.189,
pl.8, f.6
Stretch, R.H. 1873. Report upon new species of Zygaenidae and Bombycidae collected in portions of California and Arizona during the years 1871, 1872, and 1873:
p.797-798,
pl.40, f.5-6
Contributed by
Randy Hardy on 4 September, 2011 - 7:41pm
Additional contributions by
Mike QuinnLast updated 24 January, 2019 - 6:47am
