Hypercompe ocularia

Ocularia leopard
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Subtribe: Spilosomina
Genus: Hypercompe
Species: H. ocularia
Binomial name
Hypercompe ocularia
(Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
  • Bombyx ocularia Fabricius, 1775
  • Ecpantheria cyaneator Walker, [1865]
  • Ecpantheria columbina Oberthür, 1881
  • Ecpantheria distans Oberthür, 1881

Hypercompe ocularia (ocularia leopard) is a moth of the family Erebidae.[1]

Description

This moth is a translucent white colour, patterned with numerous oval brown rings on the forewings.[1]

Distribution

It is found in Colombia,[2] Peru and Ecuador. This is a cloud forest species found at elevations between about 200-1000m.[1]

Biology

Moths of the Hypercompe genus are noxious to birds and exhibit warning colouration. When approached by a bird, these moths expose a coloured abdomen and exude noxious fluids as a defense mechanism.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Hoskins, Adrian. "Moths of the Amazon and Andes Ocularia Leopard". Learn About Butterflies. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  2. Hypercompe at funet
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