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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