Taxonomy, ecology and larval behaviour of Micraloa emittens (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) from Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

Herein, we provide detailed information on the taxonomy, ecology and larval behaviour of an Arctiinae moth species, Micraloa emittens which is reported for the first time from Bangladesh. This species has been recorded as polymorphic with at least three distinct colour morphs. Apart from this, three types of defence mechanisms of the caterpillars of this species are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Death feigning
• male genitalia
• Chittagong Hills
• Brachiaria mutica
• morphs

Acknowledgments

We are thankful to Dr. Karol Bucsek for his wise opinion on the identification of the adult moths, and Md. Ahsan Habib for identifying the grass plant. We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Roger C. Kendrick for carefully going through our manuscript and provide his wise opinion including linguistic corrections. We are also thankful to the reviewers for their wise comments that have certainly improved the quality of our manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).