''Nyctemera coleta'', the marbled white moth or white tiger moth, is a
moth found from
India to the
Philippines, and from
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 ...
to
Papua New Guinea. It is classified under the
subgenus
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
''Coleta'' of the genus ''
Nyctemera
''Nyctemera'' is a genus of tiger moths in the family Erebidae first described by Jacob Hübner in 1820. The genus includes the species ''Nyctemera annulata'' and ''Nyctemera amica'', which are closely related and are able to interbreed.
Descri ...
'' in the
family Arctiidae. The species was
first described by
Caspar Stoll in 1782. It contains four
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
.
Description
The male has a large tuft of hair arising from the base of the tibia of the foreleg. It differs from ''
Nyctemera tripunctaria'' in the lower three spots of the post-medial band of forewing being separated and having another spot below them towards outer angle. Cilia white below the apex and at outer angle. Hindwing with the cilia white below the apex, and in most specimens at anal angle. The Sri Lankan subspecies has black veins 3 and 4 of hindwing and the spots of the postmedial band of forewing are smaller than other subspecies.
The larvae are purplish and hairy. Anterior somites yellowish. Each somite is black and marked with short dorsal and lateral white streaks. Pupa yellowish and spotted with black.
Subspecies
*''Nyctemera coleta coleta'' (Malacca, Singapore, Sumatra, Java)
*''Nyctemera coleta melaneura''
(Butler, 1883) (Nias)
*''Nyctemera coleta melas''
Röber, 1891 (Seram, Bangai, Moluccas)
*''Nyctemera coleta nigrovenosa''
Moore, 1879 (Sri Lanka)
References
Nyctemerina
Moths described in 1782
Moths of Japan
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