Halysidota tessellaris

Halysidota tessellaris, also called the pale tiger moth, banded tussock moth, and tessellated halisidota, is in the family Erebidae and the tribe Arctiini, the tiger moths. The species was first described by James Edward Smith in 1797. Like many related species, it has chemical defenses it acquires from its host plants, in this case, alkaloids (Weller et al., 1999, Hristov & Conner 2005), at least in adults. Larval behaviors suggest that they are chemically protected; they have not been analyzed for alkaloid content.

Halysidota tessellaris

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Noctuoidea
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae
Genus: Halysidota
Species:
H. tessellaris
Binomial name
Halysidota tessellaris
(J. E. Smith, 1797)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena tessellaris Smith, 1797
  • Halysidota (Lophocampa) antiphola Walsh, 1864
  • Halisidota oslari Rothschild, 1909
  • Halysidota tessellaris ab. antipholella Strand, 1919
  • Halysidota tessellaris ab. tesselaroides Strand, 1919
Cocoon

Range

This moth is found in North America from southern Canada south through Texas and central Florida (Wagner 2005).

Life cycle

One generation per year occurs in the north, and two or more occur in the south (Wagner 2005).

Egg

Eggs are laid in masses on the undersides of leaves (Rose & Lindquist, 1982).

Larva

Larva

Caterpillars are covered with long setae, in tufts. They vary from yellowish and orange through dark gray. Extra long hair-pencils of white, black, and/or orange occur at both the front and rear of a caterpillar. Larval head capsules are bright orange. In the north, mature caterpillars are found from July to frost (Wagner 2005). Caterpillars frequently rest on the upper surface of leaves, and though not gregarious, they are very conspicuous (Wagner 2005). They grow to a length of 35 mm.

Pupa

Pupae overwinter in gray cocoons laced with larval hairs (Wagner, 2005).

Adults

Wings are light brown. Forewings have bands of beige edged in black. The body is 'hairy' and yellow. The thorax has blue-green lines on its uppersides. Adults are attracted to decaying plants with pyrrolizidine alkaloids (Krasnof & Dussourd, 1989). They regurgitate on them, then drink the fluids, and acquire defensive chemicals.

Close-up of a pale tiger moth, with blue and orange hairs visible on its thorax

Food plants

Larvae are known to feed on some species of alder, ash, birch, blueberry, chestnut, elm, grape, hackberry, hazel, oak, walnut, willow, and many others (Wagner, 2005). No serious injury to trees has been reported for this late-season feeder (Rose & Lindquist, 1982).

References
  1. Hodges, R.W (1983). "Halysidota tessellaris - (J.E. Smith, 1797) Banded Tussock Moth". NatureServe. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
  • Krasnoff, S. B. & Dussourd, D. E. (1989). "Dihydropyrrolizine attractants for arctiid moths that visit plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids". Journal of Chemical Ecology. 15: 47-60.
  • Hristov, N. L. & Conner, W. E. (2005)." Effectiveness of tiger moth (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) chemical defenses against an insectivorous bat (Eptesicus fuscus)". Chemoecology. 15 (2): 105-113.
  • Rose, A. H. & Lindquist, O. H. (1982). Insects of Eastern Hardwood Trees. Canadian Forestry service, Forestry Tech Rep 29. Government of Canada, Ottawa. ISBN 0-660-11205-1.
  • Wagner, D. L. (2005). Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press.
  • Weller, S. J.; Jacobsen, N. L. & Conner, W. E. (1999). "The evolution of chemical defenses and mating systems in tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 68: 557–578.
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