Orgyia antiqua
| Rusty tussock moth | |
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_The_Vapourer_(Orgyia_antiqua)_(19245708773).jpg) |
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| Orgyia antiqua, male | |
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| Caterpillar | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lymantriidae |
| Genus: | Orgyia |
| Species: | O. antiqua |
| Binomial name | |
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Orgyia antiqua (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Orgyia antiqua, the rusty tussock moth or vapourer, is a moth in the family Lymantriidae.
O. antiqua is native to Europe, but now has a transcontinental distribution in the Palaearctic and the Nearctic regions. The species is not on the IUCN (2007) Red List; and in the UK is considered a common resident.
In the UK, O. antiqua may be encountered in a variety of shrub-based habitats, including gardens, parks, open woodland, fens, hedgerows, heaths. and moors.
A striking dimorphism exists between the male and the female moths of this species. The male moth typically has orange- to red-brown (ochreous red and dark brown) wings; each fore wing has a white comma-shaped (tornal) spot. He has marked plumose (short, bipectinate) antennae. The wingspan measures between 35 and 38 mm. The female moth has vestigial wings and is flightless; she is light grey-brown (ochreous grey), has "shortly bipectinate" antennae, and a swollen abdomen. The hairy caterpillar is spectacular, with "humps", "horns", and a "tail" in a combination of dark grey, red, and yellow.
The female is flightless and spends her brief adult life clinging to her cocoon
O. antiqua caterpillar showing the four clumps of yellow tussock hairs on its back
Several hundred eggs are laid on the outside of the female's empty cocoon, usually attached to a host plant or something close by (e.g. fence, wall). The species overwinters in the egg stage. Each brownish egg is rounded, somewhat flattened top and bottom. A small darker depression is seen in the upperside.
The larvae hatch early in the spring, as soon as foliage starts to appear. They are easily recognized by their horn-like tufts of hair-like setae. Four toothbrush-like tufts occur along the back, and hair pencils project from the sides at the front and at the back. The body is dark grey to black, and red tubercules are along the sides and back.
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Wikipedia