The buff ermine (''Spilarctia luteum'') is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family Erebidae. It is sometimes placed in the genus '' Spilosoma''. The species was first described by

Johann Siegfried Hufnagel Johann Siegfried Hufnagel (17 October 1724, Falkenwalde, Prenzlau district, Brandenburg – 23 February 1795, Langenfeld, Sternberg district) was a German parson and entomologist ( lepidopterist). Life Until the late 20th century nothing was know ...

in 1766. It is found throughout the temperate belt of the Palearctic region south to northern

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, southern

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...

(excluding Buryatia), eastern

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Amur Region Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrativ ...

, China,

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

and Japan. The wings of this species are buffish yellow (the males tend to be more yellow than the females) and are typically marked with a diagonal row of dark spots on the forewing and a few other scattered spots on both forewings and hindwings. The extent of black markings varies considerably, however, from almost spotless examples to largely black melanic forms. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

is 34–42 mm. The species flies from May to July in the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

. This may vary in other parts of the range. It is attracted to light. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

is pale brown and very hairy. It is polyphagous, feeding on a wide variety of

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

s, shrubs and herbaceous plants (see list). This species overwinters as a

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

Recorded food plants

Some larval food plants include: *''Alnus'' –

alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...

*''

Mentha ''Mentha'' (also known as mint, from Greek , Linear B ''mi-ta'') is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae (mint family). The exact distinction between species is unclear; it is estimated that 13 to 24 species exist. Hybridization occurs nat ...

'' – mint *''

Plantago ''Plantago'' is a genus of about 200 species of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, commonly called plantains or fleaworts. The common name plantain is shared with the unrelated cooking plantain. Most are herbaceous plants, though ...

'' – plantain *''Quercus'' –

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

*''Rheum'' – rhubarb *''

Ribes ''Ribes'' is a genus of about 200 known species of flowering plants, most of them native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The various species are known as currants or gooseberries, and some are cultivated for their edible ...

'' – currant *''Rubus'' – raspberry *'' Rumex'' – dock/sorrel *''

Senecio ''Senecio'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family (Asteraceae) that includes ragworts and groundsels. Variously circumscribed taxonomically, the genus ''Senecio'' is one of the largest genera of flowering plants. Description Mor ...

'' – ragwort *''

Urtica ''Urtica'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Urticaceae. Many species have stinging hairs and may be called nettles or stinging nettles, although the latter name applies particularly to '' Urtica dioica''. ''Urtica'' species are food ...

'' – nettle *''

Lonicera Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both contin ...

'' – honeysuckle *'' Humulus '' – hops

Subspecies

*''Spilarctia lutea lutea'' *''Spilarctia lutea adzharica'' Dubatolov, 2007 (Georgia) *''Spilarctia lutea japonica'' (Rothschild, 1910) (Middle Amur, Primorye, southern Sakhalin, southern Kuril Islands, eastern China, Korea, Japan) *''Spilarctia lutea rhodosoma'' (Turati, 1907) Sicily, the black of the upperside is increased by a larger number of the spots; but especially distinguished by the bright red abdomen.

Gallery

File:Spilarctia luteum larva.JPG, Buff ermine moth (''Spilarctia luteum'') caterpillar File:Spilosoma_lutea_pupa.jpg, Pupa Image:Spilosoma_luteum1.jpg, Pair of buff ermine moths

References and notes

* *

External links

* *Hlasek, Josef Lubomi
"''Spilosoma luteum'' ab6369"
''Photo Gallery Wildlife Pictures''. *
''Spilosoma lutea'' at EoL
*
"10566 ''Spilarctia lutea'' (Hufnagel, 1766) - Gelber Fleckleibbär"
''Lepiforum e.V.''. Retrieved September 28, 2019. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1499328 Spilarctia Moths described in 1766 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Johann Siegfried Hufnagel