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Siam Weed Defoliator

Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata

Photo by Francis Floe
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

It is a moth that belongs to the subfamily Arctiinae, also known as tiger moths. This species is mainly yellow from abdomen, head to wings, with the abdomen ( see pic 4) having a distinct column of black spots. Antennae and legs are black. I got too many pics of the moth while it's flying and Project Noah only allows 6 pics maximum so I made a collage out of the rest of the pics (see pic 5).

Habitat:

Found inside my room, I made it rest on a tissue and set it free outside, Panay Island, Philippines. Native to Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. It is an introduced species in Sri Lanka, as well as in Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Guam.

Notes:

It is an invasive species in the Philippines.-----It is an obligate parasite of the weed Chromolaena odorata. Since C. odorata is an invasive species in many tropical regions worldwide, P. pseudoinsulata has been used as a form of biological control. - Wikipedia.----I first thought it was the same species as the Tropical Tiger Moth (Asota caricae) (See on the last pic) as there was one outside during the time I saw this moth and there seems to be two kinds of tiger moth gathering on a light which led me to think that one is a female and the other is a male of the same species but they're each a species of their own and it was just a coincidence.

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