Estigmene acrea, the salt marsh moth or acrea moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773.[2] It is found in North America, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Colombia, Mexico.
The head and thorax are white and the abdomen is yellow orange with a row of black spots. The forewing is white with a variable pattern of black spots, with some individuals lacking any spots. The hindwing is yellow orange in males and white in females. Both sexes have three or four black spots or blotches on the hindwings. The wingspan measures 4.5 to 6.8 centimetres (1+3⁄4 to 2+11⁄16 in).[3]
This moth is generally seen from May to August,[3] but it is seen all year in southern Florida and southern Texas.[4]
The yellowish eggs are laid in clusters on the host plant leaves. The larva, known as the salt marsh caterpillar, which grows to about 5 cm (2 in) in length, is highly variable in color, ranging from pale yellow to rusty orange brown to dark brownish black. It is hairy, with numerous soft setae, growing in tufts (several tufts on each segment), with a few individual hairs that are longer toward the end of the body. The thoracic and abdominal segments have a few rows of orange or black warts, and it has one tiny white dot per segment, on both sides of its body. It pupates in a cocoon, made in part from its own hair, usually by wrapping itself in a leaf or other debris.[4] While inside the cocoon, it remains a larva through the winter, pupates in spring, and emerges as an adult in late spring. In the southern parts of its range it may have several generations per year. Unlike most moth species, which emit the sex pheromone from a gland at the tip of the abdomen, female bagworms release their pheromone from specific gland cells located on the thorax and/or the anterior part of the abdomen (Leonhardt et al. 1983; Subchev et al. 2000).
Host plants used by the caterpillar include dandelions, cabbage, cotton, walnuts, apple, tobacco, pea, potato, clovers, and maize.[3][4]
The moth does not seem to be affected by any type of pyrrolizidine alkaloid present in many plant families, including the borage, legume, dogbane, and orchid families, and the tribes Senecioneae and Eupatorieae of the aster family. It is sensitive to alkaloids due to its pyrrolizidine alkaloid-specific taste receptors. It can detoxify them and even convert them into sex pheromones.[5]
6.Rahmani, R., Carrasco, D., Svensson, G. P., Roweck, H., Ryrholm, N., Larsson, M. C., & Hedenström, E. (2020). Identification and Synthesis of Putative Pheromone Components of the Threatened Salt Marsh Bagworm Moth, Whittleia retiella (Lepidoptera: Psychidae). Journal of chemical ecology, 46(2), 115–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-020-01145-x
Estigmene acrea, the salt marsh moth or acrea moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. It is found in North America, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Colombia, Mexico.
Estigmene acrea
L'Estigmène dimorphe (Estigmene acrea) est une espèce de lépidoptères (papillons) de la famille des Erebidae et de la sous-famille des Arctiinae.
Cette espèce est présente en Amérique du Nord et en Afrique[1].
L'imago d'Estigmene acrea est un papillon d'une envergure compris entre de 4,5 et 6,8 cm. Les ailes antérieures sont blanches avec un nombre variable de taches noires (absentes chez certains individus). Les ailes postérieures sont jaune-orange chez les mâles et blanches chez les femelles. Les deux sexes ont 3 ou 4 taches noires sur les ailes postérieures. La tête et le thorax sont blancs ; l'abdomen est jaune-orange avec une rangée de taches noires.
La chenille, appelée « Chenille des marais salants », est très variable en couleur, allant du jaune pâle au brun foncé-noir. Elle possède de nombreuses soies douces qui sont plus longues vers l'extrémité du corps. Les segments thoraciques et abdominaux ont quelques rangées de verrues noires ou orange.
Le papillon vole en général de mai à août, mais on le peut voir toute l'année dans le Sud de la Floride et du Texas.
La chenille peut être trouvée sur diverses plantes hôtes, notamment le chou, coton, noyer, pommier, tabac, pois, pomme de terre, trèfle et maïs[réf. nécessaire]. Les œufs sont pondus en grappes sur les feuilles de la plante hôte.
La chrysalide hiverne dans un cocon.
Estigmene acrea
L'Estigmène dimorphe (Estigmene acrea) est une espèce de lépidoptères (papillons) de la famille des Erebidae et de la sous-famille des Arctiinae.
Estigmene acrea ou Mariposa Salt Marsh (Sapal em português), é uma mariposa natural da América do Norte, sendo da família das Arctiidae.
A cabeça e o tórax é branco com o abdômen alaranjado com uma fileira de pontos pretos. As asas dianteiras, são brancas com uma quantidade variável de manchas pretas (algumas mariposas não tem esses pontos pretos). As asas traseiras são de um amarelo-alaranjado nos machos e brancas nas fêmeas. Ambos os sexos tem de 3 a 4 pontos negros ou manchas em suas asas traseiras. A envergadura das asas mede entre 4,5 a 6,8 centímetros.[1]
Estas espécies de Mariposas, são vistas de Maio a Agosto em toda América do Norte, no entanto, são vistas o ano todo, no Sul da Flórida e no Sul do Texas.[2]
Os ovos amarelados são colocados em cacho nas folhas da planta hospedeira. As Larvas são conhecidas como Lagartas, e possuem uma grande variedade de cores e tamanhos, variando de uma cor pálida a um amarelo escuro. Na parte de cima do corpo possuem cerdas macias, sendo que na extremidade do corpo as cerdas são mais longos.O corpo é segmentado e nas laterais possuem pigmentos de cor preta ou laranja. As lagartas hibernam no inverno numa espécie de casulo.
As mariposa parecem assimilar quase todos os tipos conhecidos de Alcalóides Pirrolizidínicos das plantas conhecidas, que contenham este tipo de alcalóides, como as espécies i.e. Asteraceae, Senecioneae e Eupatorieae, Boraginaceae, Fabaceae, Apocynaceae e Orchidaceae. Possuem receptores altamente sensitivos para detectar os alcalóides pirrolizidine específicos.[3]
Estigmene acrea ou Mariposa Salt Marsh (Sapal em português), é uma mariposa natural da América do Norte, sendo da família das Arctiidae.