Calyptra minuticornis

Vampire moth
Dorsal view
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Noctuidae
Genus: Calyptra
Species: C. minuticornis
Binomial name
Calyptra minuticornis
(Guenée, 1852)[1]
Synonyms[2]
  • Calpe minuticornis Guenée, 1852
  • Calpe novaepommeraniae Strand, 1919

The Vampire moth, (Calyptra minuticornis), is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It has been found in Indonesia, Java, India, and Sri Lanka.[3]

Description

Wingspan about 50mm. Antennae of male minutely ciliated. Fore wings with rounded outer margin.[4] Head and thorax pale reddish brown and thickly irrorated with grey. Abdomen pale fuscous. Fore wings with pale red-brown with a silvery sheen and numerous fine pale striae. There are traces of sub-basal, antemedial, and medial oblique line present. A rufous line runs from apex to inner margin beyond middle. A series of submarginal specks present. Hind wings pale fuscous and cilia whitish. Larva olive-grey with a sub-dorsal series of black-bordered yellow spots. A sub-lateral series of specks enclosed from fourth somite by a pinkish bordered black line. Head ochreous, with paired lateral black spots. Legs pale pink.[5]

Caterpillar feeds on Stephania japonica, Cissampelos, Cocculus, Cyclea species. It pupates in a cocoon in between joined dead leaves in ground debris. Adult is a fruit-piercer and also observed to pierce skins of buffalo, zebu, tapir and even humans in labs to suck blood.[6][7]

References

  1. "Natural History Museum". The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  2. Savela, Markku Savela. "Calyptra minuticornis". Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  3. Zaspel, J.M.; Branham, M.A. (September 26, 2008). "World Checklist of Tribe Calpini (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Calpinae)" (PDF). Insecta Mundi: A Journal of World Insect Systematics. 0047 (1-15): 2. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  4. "Calyptra minuticornis". JPMoth (in Japanese). Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  5. Hampson G. F. (1892). "The Fauna Of British India Including Ceylon And Burma Moths Vol-ii". Digital Library of India. p. 558. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  6. "Vampire Moth - Calyptra minuticornis (Guenée, 1852)". Butterfly House. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  7. "Calyptra minuticornis Guenée". The Moths of Borneo. Retrieved 18 August 2016.


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