Burnet Moth

This moth of the Zygaenidae family is a polymorphic species having different mimetic forms. There is an ephialtoid form similar in coloration to the genus Amata of tiger moths (Arctiidae) (see Amata phegea). They are characterized by white spots on the upper wing surface and the wear a yellow ring segment. In contrast, the peucedanoid form is similar to the Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae). They have five or six red spots on the upper wing surface and have a red body ring. Since the two species that Zygaena ephialtes mimicres are distasteful for their common predadors as also Zygaena ephialtes is, this is a characteristic example of "Müllerian mimicry". The form in this spotting (known as f. medusa, subsp. istoki) is considered by some as an intermediate evolutionary stage from peucedanoid to ephialtoid form (http://www.zoologi.su.se/research/leimar/fulltext/Balogh_etal2010.pdf).