MOTHS OF JAMAICA
SPECIES LISTS BY FAMILY
Arctiidae: Ctenuchinae
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SUBFAMILY DESCRIPTION
The CTENUCHINAE ('Wasp Moths') are almost certainly an 'unnatural' group,
made up of unrelated species which have evolved to appear similar due
to similar evolutionary selection pressures - in this case to mimic various
species of wasps and other noxious insects. Future research will almost
certainly break this artifical subfamily into more natural ones
(John Rawlins pers. comm.). Many authors classify this group as
a family in its own right - the Ctenuchidae - which contains about
2,000 species. The Ctenuchines are found worldwide but the majority
of the species are found in the New World tropics. Most Ctenuchines
are between 20 and 40 mm in wingspan: their wings are characteristically
long and thin and often possess large transparent patches in mimicry of
various species of wasps and bees. Larvae are difficult to distinguish
from those of Arctiines, but feed upon grasses, lichens, mosses and
various members of the plant family Apocynaceae (Scoble 1992). This
subfamily has not been catalogued or revised, except in part, since
the major work by Hampson (1898, 1914).
JAMAICAN SPECIES
I have collected or otherwise catalogued 33 species of this subfamily in Jamaica so far
(18 of which are endemic species),
as listed below. This is probably an almost complete listing of
Jamaican Ctenuchines, although one or two more are almost certain to be found in the future.
Please click on any underlined species names to go to a colour
illustration of the adult
(and sometimes its genitalia) and brief information on
the species.
The genus Cosmosoma
Cosmosoma achemon Fab.
Cosmosoma auge L.
Cosmosoma fenestrata Drury
Cosmosoma sp. (cardinale?) Hampspon 1898
The genus Empyreuma
Empyreuma anassa Forbes
The genus Nyridlea
Nyridela chalciope Hubner
Nyridela xanthocera Walker
The genus Eucereon
Eucereon coenobitum Moschler
Eucereon moeschleri Rothschild
Eucereon ochrota Hampson
The genus Napata
Napata chalybea Hubner
The genus Aethria
Aethria dorsilineata Hampson
The egnus Gymnelia
Gymnelia dubia Rothschild
The genus Cyanopepla
Cyanopepla fastuosa Walker
The genus Horama
Horama grotei Butler
Horama panthalon ssp. panthalon Fab.
The genus Uraga
Uraga haemorrhoa Walker
The genus Phoenicoprocta
Phoenicoprocta jamaicensis Schaus
The genus Episcepsis
Episcepsis sp. ( lenaeus?) Cramer)
The genus Correbia
Correbia lycoides Walker (?)
The genus Lymire
Lymire melanocephala Walker
The genus Pseudocharis
Pseudocharis minima Grote
The genus Antichloris
Antichloris quadricolor Walker
The genus Eunomia
Eunomia rubripunctata Butler
The genus Correbidia
Correbidia sp. ( terminalis?) Walker
The genus Aclytia
Aclytia sp. (heber?)
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