Hypercompe ocularia

Ocularia leopard
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Erebidae
Subfamily:	Arctiinae
Genus:	Hypercompe
Species:	H. ocularia
Binomial name
	Hypercompe ocularia; (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
	Bombyx ocularia Fabricius, 1775; Ecpantheria cyaneator Walker, [1865]; Ecpantheria columbina Oberthür, 1881; Ecpantheria distans Oberthür, 1881;

Hypercompe ocularia, the ocularia leopard, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775.¹

Description

This moth is a translucent-white colour, patterned with numerous brown, oval rings on the forewings.¹

Distribution

It is found in Colombia,² Peru and Ecuador. This is a cloud-forest species found at elevations between about 200–1000 m.¹

Biology

Moths of the genus Hypercompe are noxious to birds and exhibit warning colouration. When approached by a bird, these moths expose a coloured abdomen and exude noxious fluids as a defence mechanism.¹

References

Hoskins, Adrian. "Moths of the Amazon and Andes Ocularia Leopard". Learn About Butterflies. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
Savela, Markku. "Hypercompe ocularia (Fabricius, 1775)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved 18 August 2019.

Sources

Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul. "Search results Family: Arctiidae". Butterflies and Moths of the World. Natural History Museum, London.

[moth-1] Hoskins, Adrian. "Moths of the Amazon and Andes Ocularia Leopard". Learn About Butterflies. Archived from the original on April 2, 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2014.

[2] Savela, Markku. "Hypercompe ocularia (Fabricius, 1775)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved 18 August 2019.

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