''Lophocampa argentata'', the silver-spotted tiger moth, is a species of moth in the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

. It was described by

Packard Packard or Packard Motor Car Company was an American luxury automobile company located in Detroit, Michigan. The first Packard automobiles were produced in 1899, and the last Packards were built in South Bend, Indiana in 1958. One of the "Thr ...

in 1864. It is found from British Columbia to southern California, and east to Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and possibly to northern Mexico.

Description

Caterpillars are brown or reddish-brown and very hairy, with bundles of black and yellow hairs along the back. The hairs on caterpillars and pupae can irritate human skin. Adult moths have reddish-brown wings with silvery spots.

Life cycle

''Lophocampa argentata'' produce one generation per year. In mid-summer, moths lay clusters of eggs on needles and small branches. Larvae hatch within around three weeks. Groups of larvae produce tents in their host plants, remaining in the tent through winter and re-emerging in the spring. In the warmer weather, the larvae feed individually before pupating in late spring in brown cocoons attached to plants or on the forest floor.

Distribution and host plants

Larvae of this moth utilize numerous host plants in western

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, generally

conifers Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extan ...

, and notably the

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

. Larvae feeding on host plant needles can cause defoliation. ''Lophocampa argentata'' is found from British Columbia to southern California, and east to Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and possibly to northern Mexico. The subspecies ''L. a. subalpina'' occur in the

Rocky Mountain region The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, where they feed on pinyon and

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arcti ...

; ''L. a. sobrina'' are found in California and feed on Monterey pine.

Subspecies

*''Lophocampa argentata argentata'' *''Lophocampa argentata subalpina'' (French, 1890) (Rocky Mountains, Colorado) *''Lophocampa argentata sobrina'' (California)

References

External links

* Retrieved April 21, 2018.
''Lophocampa argentata'' at BOLD Systems''Lophocampa argentata'' at Encyclopedia of Life
argentata Moths of North America Taxa named by Alpheus Spring Packard Moths described in 1864 {{Lophocampa-stub