''Spilosoma occidens'' 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 ...
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
Walter Rothschild
Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild, (8 February 1868 – 27 August 1937) was a British banker, politician, zoologist and soldier, who was a member of the Rothschild family. As a Zionist leader, he was present ...
in 1910. It is found in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, NaìjÃrÃyà , yo, Nà ìjÃrÃà , pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠ðž ...
and
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
.
Larva have been reported feeding on ''
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...
''.
Description
Male
Head and thorax ochreous, the vertex of head, tegulae, and patagia with greenish-grey patches, the back of head and tips of tegulae orange; palpi above blackish; antennae brown; legs blackish; abdomen orange with black segmental lines and dorsal band on 2nd segment, the sides fuscous, the ventral surface ochreous. Forewing uniform ochreous. Hindwing pale ochreous yellow, the inner area rather yellower.
Female
Abdomen with broad black dorsal hands; wings more orange yellow. Forewing with faint greyish fasciae in the interspaces, often more developed in the female.
Wingspan for the male 32–44 mm and for the female 44–56 mm. This may be an aberration of ''
Binna penicillata''.
Subspecies
*''Spilosoma occidens occidens''
Goodger & Watson, 1995
*''Spilosoma occidens nyangweensis''
(Strand, 1922)Afromoths
/ref>
References
*
Moths described in 1910
occidens
{{Spilosoma-stub