Natural History

Agreeable tiger moth

The agreeable tiger moth (Spilosoma congrua) is a medium-sized moth belonging to the family Erebidae, subfamily Arctiinae, commonly known as the tiger moths. It was first described by the British entomologist Francis Walker in 1855 and is one of the most common white tiger moths found in North America. The species is easily recognised by its bright white wings, pronounced black eyes, white abdomen with rows of black spots, and a distinctive orange or yellow "bib" on the thorax just behind the head. These features separate it from its close relatives, the Virginia tiger moth (Spilosoma virginica) and the dubious tiger moth (Spilosoma dubia). The agreeable tiger moth ranges across most of the contiguous United States, southern Canada, and there is some evidence of disjunct populations in India. It inhabits open woodlands, meadows, fields, roadsides, and suburban gardens. The larvae are generalist feeders, consuming a wide variety of herbaceous plants, including many common weeds and garden vegetables, which sometimes brings the species into mild conflict with agriculture. Adults are nocturnal and are attracted to lights. The species has one to three generations per year depending on latitude and climate.

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See also

• ▸Cozumel
• ▸Chris Murphy
• ▸Barbary macaques in Gibraltar

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Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.