Asota heliconia (Linnaeus, 1758)
(one synonym : Hypsa perimele Weymer, 1885)
AGANAINAE,   EREBIDAE,   NOCTUOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Asota heliconia
(Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

The caterpillars of this species are orange with dark sides and a dark dorsal line.

The adult moths of this species have black forewings each with a long white triangle extending from the base. The hindwings are white, each with three black spots and a broad black margin. The body is a contrasting yellow with black spots. The underside is similar to the upper surface. The wingspan is about 6 cms.

Asota heliconia underside
(Photo: courtesy of Paul Kay, Queensland)

This species is found across south-east Asia as various subspecies, in :

  • Borneo,
  • Hong Kong,
  • Phillipines,
  • Thailand,

    and also in Australia as subspecies dama (Fabricius, 1775) in

  • Queensland.

    Asota heliconia underside
    underside
    (Photo: courtesy of Paul Kay, Queensland)


    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia,
    Melbourne University Press, 1990, pl. 19.25, p. 442.

    Carl Linnaeus,
    Insecta Lepidoptera,
    Systema Naturae,
    Volume 1, Edition 10 (1760), Class 5, Part 3, p. 511, No. 82.

    Buck Richardson,
    Mothology,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2008, p. 12.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 6.

    Gustav Weymer,
    Exotische Lepidopteren. III. Beitrag zur Lepidoperen-Fauna von Nias,
    Stettiner entomologische Zeitung
    Volume 46, Parts 4-6 (1885), pp. 275-276, and also Plate 2, fig. 3.


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    (updated 15 February 2013, 9 March 2015, 27 February 2016, 9 November 2017, 7 February 2020, 10 January 2021)