Giant Leopard Moth

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Giant Leopard Moth

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Suborder: Macrolepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Arctiidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae
Tribe: Arctiini
Genus: Hypercompe
Species: H. scribonia
Binomial name
Hypercompe scribonia
(Stoll, 1790)
Subspecies
  • H. s. scribonia (Stoll, 1790)
  • H. s. denudata (Slosson, 1888)
Synonyms
  • Bombyx chryseis
    Olivier, 1790
  • Phalaena scribonia
    Stoll, 1790
  • Phalaena oculatissima
    J.E. Smith, 1797 (unjustified emendation)
  • Bombyx cunegunda
    Palisot de Beauvois, 1824
  • Ecpantheria confluens
    Oberthür, 1881
  • Ecpantheria denudata
    Slosson, 1888
  • Ecpantheria scribonia
Closeup of head and thorax
Closeup of head and thorax

The Giant Leopard Moth or Eyed Tiger Moth (Hypercompe scribonia) is a moth of the family Arctiidae. It is distributed throughout the Southern and Eastern United States from New England to Mexico. The obsolete name Ecpantheria scribonia is still occasionally encountered.

This species has a wingspan of 3 inches (nearly 8 cm). The wings of this moth are bright white with a pattern of neat black blotches, some solid and some hollow. The abdomen is dark blue with orange markings, the male has a narrow yellow line on the sides. Its legs have black and white bands. Adult moths are rather strictly nocturnal and do not generally fly before nightfall (Fullard & Napoleone 2001).

The caterpillar is of the "Woolly Bear" kind, with a thick coat of black bristles (setae) and red bands between its segments which become conspicuous when caterpillar rolls into a ball for defense. It should not be touched, as its setae may break off and cause a rash.

The caterpillar eats a variety of broad-leaf plants such as broadleaf plantains, dandelions and violets:

  • Fullard, James H. & Napoleone, Nadia (2001): Diel flight periodicity and the evolution of auditory defences in the Macrolepidoptera. Animal Behaviour 62(2): 349–368. doi:10.1006/anbe.2001.1753 PDF fulltext

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