Arctiidae

**Arctiidae** is a large family of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world. It included 6,000 neotropical species. This family includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths (or tigers). Tiger moths usually have bright colours, footmen (which are usually much drabber), lichen moths and wasp moths. Many species have 'hairy' caterpillars which are popularly known as **woolly bears** or **woolly worms**. The scientific name refers to this (Gk. αρκτος = a bear). Caterpillars may also go by the name 'tussock moths' (more usually this refers to Lymantriidae, however).

## Notable species

- Banded tussock moth, _Halysidota tesselaris_
- banded woolly bear or Isabella tiger moth, _Pyrrharctia isabella_
- Buff ermine, _Spilarctia lutea_
- Cinnabar moth, _Tyria jacobaeae_
- common footman, _Manulea lurideola_
- dogbane tiger moth or delicate cycnia, _Cycnia tenera_
- fall webworm, _Hyphantria cunea_
- garden tiger moth, _Arctia caja_
- giant leopard moth, _Hypercompe scribonia_
- hickory tussock moth, _Lophocampa caryae_
- Jersey tiger moth,  _Euplagia quadripunctaria_
- milkweed tussock moth, _Euchaetes egle_
- scarlet tiger pygmy moth, _Callimorpha dominula_
- Maltese ruby tiger moth, _Phragmatobia fuliginosa_ ssp. _melitensis_

## Related links

- List of arctiid genera

### Other references

- Bates DL, Fenton MB (1990) Aposematism or startle? Predators learn their responses to the defenses of prey. _Can J Zool_ 68:49–52
- Dunning DC, Krüger M (1995) Aposematic sounds in African moths. _Biotropica_ 27:227–231
- Dunning DC, Acharya L, Merriman CB, Ferro LD (1992) Interactions between bats and arctiid moths. _Can J Zool_ 70:2218–2223
- Fullard JH, Fenton MB, Simmons JA (1979) Jamming bat echolocation: the clicks of arctiid moths._ Can J Zool_ 57:647–649
- Science Fridays: Moths Can Escape Bats By Jamming Sonar

### Main species catalogs

- Dubatolov VV (2010) Tiger-moths of Eurasia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) (Nyctemerini by Rob de Vos & Vladimir V. Dubatolov). _Neue Entomologische Nachrichten_ 65:1-106
- Edwards ED (1996) Arctiidae. _Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera_ 4:278-286,368-370
- Ferguson DC, Opler PA (2006) Checklist of the Arctiidae (Lepidoptera: Insecta) of the continental United States and Canada. _Zootaxa_ 1299:1-33
- Goodger DT, Watson A (1995) _The Afrotropical Tiger-Moths. An illustrated catalogue, with generic diagnosis and species distribution, of the Afrotropical Arctiinae (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae)._ Apollo Books Aps.: Denmark, 55 pp.
- Watson A (1971) An illustrated Catalog of the Neotropic Arctiinae type in the United States National Museum (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) Part 1. _Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology_ 50:1-361
- Watson A, Goodger DT (1986) Catalogue of the Neotropical Tiger-moths. _Occasional Papers on Systematic Entomology_ 1:1-71

### Phylogenetic analyses

- Da Costa MA, Weller SJ (2005) Phylogeny and classification of Callimorphini (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae: Arctiinae). _Zootaxa_ 1025:1-94
- Dubatolov VV (2006) Cladogenesis of tiger-moths of the subfamily Arctiinae: development of a cladogenetic model of the tribe Callimorphini (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) by the SYNAP method. _Euroasian Entomological Journal_ 5(2):95-104 (in Russian).
- Dubatolov VV (2008) Construction of the phylogenetic model for the genera of the tribe Arctiini (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) with the SYNAP method. _Entomological Review_ 88(7):833-837. Translated from: Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 87(3):653-658
- Dubatolov VV (2009) Development of a phylogenetic model for the tribe Micrarctiini (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) by the SYNAP method. _Entomological Review_ 89(3):306-313. Translated from: Zoologicheskii Zhurnal. 88(4):438-445
- Jacobson NL, Weller SJ (2002) _A cladistic study of the Arctiidae (Lepidoptera) by using characters of immatures and adults. Thomas Say publications in entomology._ Entomological Society of America | Lanham, Maryland, 98 pp.

### Distribution analyses

- Dubatolov VV (2008) Analysis of Insect Distribution in the Northern Hemisphere by the Example of the Subfamily Arctiinae (Lepidoptera, Artctiidae). _Contemporary Problems of Ecology_ 1(2):183-193, 194-203.

## Further reading

- William Conner (ed.). (2009). _Tiger moths and woolly bears : behavior, ecology, and evolution of the Arctiidae._ Oxford University Press: New York.

## Other websites

- Family Arctiidae  at Lepidoptera.pro
- Belize Arctiidae Digital colour "plates"
- Jamaica Actiidae Digital colour "plates"
- Digital images of Neotropical Arctiidae and Geometridae
- SZM Digital images
- on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site
    - _Empyreuma affinis_, spotted oleander caterpillar
    - _Estigmene acrea_, saltmarsh caterpillar
    - _Lycomorpha pholus_, black and yellow lichen moth
    - _Lymire edwardsii_, Edwards wasp moth
    - _Syntomeida epilais_, oleander caterpillar
    - _Utetheisa ornatrix_, bella moth
- Beattyville Wolly Worm Festival 2012 Site