MOTHS OF NICARAGUA
SPECIES LISTS BY FAMILY
15(b). Arctiidae: Ctenuchinae

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SUBFAMILY DESCRIPTION
The Ctenuchinae ('Wasp Moths') have long been suspected to be 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. Recent cladistic work by Jacobson & Weller (2002) has concluded that the former 'Ctenuchinae' consist of two closely related new world tribes of the subfamily Arctiinae - the Ctenuchini and the Euchromiini - and that the mostly tropical old world 'Ctenuchines' are members of the tribe Syntomini of another Arctiid subfamily, the Syntominae. The vast majority of the former 'Ctenuchinae' (ie Ctenuchini and Euchromiini) are confined to the new world tropics, with about a dozen species ranging into North America. Most 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 other Arctiids, but feed upon grasses, lichens, mosses and various members of the plant family Apocynaceae (Scoble 1992). This group has not been catalogued or revised in detail since the major work by Hampson (1898, 1914) but the recent work by Jacobson & Weller (2002) has revised the higher classification of the Arctiidae including the former 'Ctenuchinae'. I retain the old, artificial classification for now as it is familiar to most workers. I am grateful to Michel Laguerre of Bordeaux for many identifications (any mistakes which remain are mine and not his!)

NICARAGUA SPECIES
xx morphospecies of this subfamily have been collected by me (or sent to me by Jean-Michel Maes or Pierre Schmit) from Nicaragua so far, as listed below - 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 Episcepsis
  • Episcepsis inornata Walker 1856

    The genus Aclytia
  • Aclytia punctata Butler 1876
  • Aclytia albistriga Schaus 1911
  • Aclytia heber Cramer 1780


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