''Creatonotos gangis'', the Baphomet moth or Australian horror moth, is a
species of
arctiine moth in
South East Asia and
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It was described by
Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 ''
Centuria Insectorum
The first page of ''Centuria Insectorum'', as included in ''Amoenitates Academicæ''
' (Latin, "one hundred insects") is a 1763 taxonomic work by Carl Linnaeus, and defended as a thesis by Boas Johansson; which of the two men should for taxonomi ...
''.
Description and life cycle
Adults have white hindwings and brown forewings, each with a dark streak, and a wingspan of 4 cm.
The abdomen is red or, more rarely, yellow.
Males have four large, grey-colored
coremata behind them, which can exceed the length of the abdomen when inflated.
The
eggs are yellow and round, and are laid in rows on the leaves of food plants. The
caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
s are brown hairy animals with a yellow stripe along the back, with a
polyphagous diet,
known as a minor pest which feeds on groundnuts,
rice,
ragi,
sorghum
''Sorghum'' () is a genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the grass family (Poaceae). Some of these species are grown as cereals for human consumption and some in pastures for animals. One species is grown for grain, while many othe ...
, ''
Pennisetum americanum'',
coffee,
sweet potato
The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...
, and
lucerne
Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label=Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking po ...
crops.
In ''
The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume I'', the species is described as follows:
Distribution
''Creatonotos gangis'' lives in
South East Asia and parts of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Its Asian distribution includes eastern
Indonesia,
India,
Iran,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Thailand and
New Guinea.
In Australia, it is restricted to northern parts of
Western Australia,
Northern Territory and
Queensland, extending as far south as
Mackay Mackay may refer to:
*Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives
Mackay may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Mackay Region, a local government area
** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region
*** Mackay Airport ...
.
Ecology
Adult males
secrete the
pheromone hydroxydanaidal
Hydroxydanaidal is an insect pheromone biosynthesis, synthesized by some species of moth from pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in their diet.
Use
The caterpillars of several kinds of Arctiidae, arctiid moth Pyrrolizidine alkaloid sequestration, in ...
in order to attract mates. The amount produced, and the size of the coremata which produce it, are however dependent on the diet that the moth experienced as a
caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...
. If the larval diet contained
pyrrolizidine alkaloid
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs), sometimes referred to as necine bases, are a group of naturally occurring alkaloids based on the structure of pyrrolizidine. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are produced by plants as a defense mechanism against insect he ...
s, then the coremata become large and the male will release up to 400 micrograms (0.4 milligrams) of
Hydroxydanaidal
Hydroxydanaidal is an insect pheromone biosynthesis, synthesized by some species of moth from pyrrolizidine alkaloids found in their diet.
Use
The caterpillars of several kinds of Arctiidae, arctiid moth Pyrrolizidine alkaloid sequestration, in ...
, but if it does not, then the
coremata do not grow large and no scent is produced.
The larvae of ''C. gangis'' can cause extensive damage to the foliage of
pomegranate trees.
See also
*
Pyrrolizidine alkaloid sequestration Pyrrolizidine alkaloid sequestration by insects is a strategy to facilitate defense and mating. Various species of insects have been known to use molecular compounds from plants for their own defense and even as their pheromones or precursors to the ...
References
Further reading
*
{{Taxonbar , from=Q5183599
Spilosomina
Moths of Australia
Moths of Asia
Moths described in 1763
Moths of Japan
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Insect pests of millets