Life history of the rare boreal tiger moth Arctia menetriesii (Eversmann, 1846) (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae) in the Russian Far East

By

Koshkin, Evgeny S.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2021-5-14

Original Publication

Nature conservation

Volume

44

Pages

141--151

Subjects

Arctia menetriesii , immature stages , life history , metamorphosis anomalies , Russian Far East.

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2012-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/nl.44.62801

 

Abstract

A thorough description and detailed photographs of all developmental stages of one of the rarest Palaearctic moths, Menetries’ tiger moth Arctia menetriesii (Eversmann, 1846) (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae), are presented. Eggs were obtained from a female collected in the Bureinsky Nature Reserve, Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. Data relating to specimens from this region significantly supplements previously published data, which was derived exclusively from more westerly parts of the species’ range. Larvae were reared mainly on dandelion (Taraxacum campylodes G.E.Haglund) in laboratory conditions. Some larvae were fed on Aconitum consanguineum Vorosch. leaves and larch (Larix gmelinii (Rupr.) Kuzen.) needles during certain periods of their lives. It is hypothesized that toxic compounds found in these plants resulted in high mortality rates among larvae prior to pupation. Metamorphosis anomalies in the form of larva-pupa intermediates and various morphological defects of pupae are documented for A. menetriesii for the first time. The assumptions of some researchers about the important role of Larix and Aconitum in larval development are questioned.