Trabala vishnou guttata Matsumura, 1909 青黃枯葉蛾

Tags: insect | moth

 

Trabala vishnou guttata Matsumura, 1909 青黃枯葉蛾
 

  
The Lasiocampid moth Trabala vishnou (Lefèbvre) is widely distributed in the Oriental realm, including India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, China and Taiwan (Wang, 1995). The sexual dimorphism is distinct in overall coloration of which males are pale green and females are earthy yellow. In addition, a large dark brown marking on the forewing appears in the females but is absent in the males. The adults have a wingspan of 42~53 mm in males, and 52~82 mm in females.
 
Each maternal moth has a fecundity of about 300 eggs in average. The eggs are usually laid in two parallel, adjacent columns composed of about 20 eggs, and covered with long shed hairs from the maternal moth. There are six larval instars with duration of about 53 days under 25℃ in artificial rearing. The larvae feed on a wide range of host plants such as Punica granatum (Punicaceae), Acacia confuse (Leguminosae), Santalum album (Santalaceae), Castanea and Quercus spp. (Fagaceae) and Eucalyptus globules (Myrtaceae) (Wang, 1995).  Male pupae have significantly longer duration than female pupae, about 7 vs. 2 days under 25℃. Adults have a lifespan of about 8 days for males and 11 days for females in average (Cheng et al. 2002).
 
The subspecies guttata is endemic to Taiwan. It is quite common to the island and the adults can be seen all year round. The long hairs on the egg mass or of the caterpillar are venomous, may cause pain and dermatitis when touched. Sometimes the larvae become minor but annoying pest to horticultural or street trees when outbreak.

 

National Museum of Natural Science (The Digital Museum of Nature & Culture)