''Heteronygmia dissimilis'' is a species of moth in the subfamily

Lymantriinae The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893. Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The cat ...

first described by

Per Olof Christopher Aurivillius Per Olof Christopher Aurivillius (15 January 1843 – 20 July 1928) was a Swedish entomologist. Life Christopher Aurivillius was born at Forsa, Sweden. He was the director of the Natural History Museum in Stockholm and he specialised in Coleop ...

in 1910. It is native to Africa. The adult moth is on wing from February to November, but is most common between June and September. The larvae feed on the foliage of the East African mahogany and when they are plentiful, they can defoliate the tree.

Description

The male has a wingspan of about and is a strong flier. It has large feathery antennae and a slender abdomen, and is some shade of brown or reddish brown. The female is larger and stouter with a wingspan of about . It is whitish or cream and is a poor flier. Both sexes have faint greyish lines on the wings, and a black spot on the forewing. The caterpillars are hairy and the last

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

has two colour morphs; the less common form being pale green while the other form is

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...

d in brown, grey and white to resemble bark, and has up to three dark-coloured bars.

Ecology

The eggs are laid in clusters of up to 130 on the bark of mahogany trees in the genus ''

Khaya ''Khaya'' is a genus of five tree species in the mahogany family Meliaceae. The timber of ''Khaya'' is called African mahogany, and is valued as a substitute to American mahogany (of the genus ''Swietenia''). Description The genus is native to ...

'' such as the East African mahogany (''Khaya anthotheca''). The eggs are glossy and globular, about in diameter, and hatch in about six days. The larvae are solitary and move up the tree to feed on the foliage. The early

s feed on mature leaves by night, skeletonising them, and hide on the underside of the leaves by day. Later instars spend the night feeding on leaves and hide in the day on the lower part of the tree trunk. The larvae do not consume freshly unfurled growth. Males have five instar stages while females have six, each lasting five or six days. The pupae may be concealed behind flakes of bark or be loosely tied with silk and hidden among the foliage. The adults of this species are nocturnal.

Subspecies

*''Heteronygmia dissimilis dissimilis'' *''Heteronygmia dissimilis rufescens'' Hering, 1926

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q13229328 Lymantriinae Moths described in 1910