Wild Facts About The Agreeable Tiger Moth
Quick Facts About Agreeable Tiger Moths
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Scientific Name |
Spilosoma congrua |
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Common Name(s) |
Agreeable Tiger Moth |
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Animal Type |
Insect; Lepidopteran (butterflies and moths) |
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Diet |
Caterpillars (larval form) eat the leaves of a wide variety of plants, such as plantain, dandelion, apple, and honeysuckle. |
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Found |
Throughout eastern North America, from Canada south to Florida and west to Texas (Wagner 2005). |
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Description |
Caterpillar: Head is glossy black and surrounded by a collar of bristles. Body is mostly black and ringed with thin sections of bright yellow. Black sections bristle with densely packed, short black spines covered in microscopic barbs. Bright yellow sections are spine-free. Adult Moth: Body is mostly white but has a bright orange spot on its ventral (under) surface. Large black eyes. Thorax is covered in thick white fur. Abdomen is white and decorated with two parallel rows of small black spots that run the length of the abdomen. Wings are powdery white with a few black spots. |
Agreeable Tiger Moth Images
Fun Facts About Agreeable Tiger Moths
Agreeable Tiger Moths Are Agreeable In Comparison
- The Agreeable Tiger Moth belongs to the same genus as a major insect pest found in India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh called the Jute Hairy Moth (Spilosoma obliqua).
- As is usually the case with moths and butterflies in order Lepidoptera, the caterpillars do all the damage.
- They chew through plant leaves voraciously and reduce agricultural yields by up to 30% (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spilosoma_obliqua).
- Scientists have generated a huge amount of information about the Jute Hairy Moth in their never-ending attempts to control this serious pest.
- However, they do not seem to have expended the same effort on the Agreeable Tiger Moth, possibly because this species causes less economic damage than its cousin across the Atlantic.
Agreeable Tiger Moths Are Covert
- One study researched the relative susceptibility of Agreeable Tiger Moth caterpillars and Common Buckeye caterpillars to predation and found that:
- Only 16% of Agreeable Tiger Moth caterpillars were attacked and killed by predatory Spined Soldier Bugs (Podisus maculiventris) compared to 70% of the Common Buckeye caterpillars in the controlled laboratory experiment.
- Predatory Paper Wasps (Polistes fuscatus) found and killed many more Common Buckeye caterpillars than Agreeable Tiger Moth caterpillars in the field experiment (Stamp 1992, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00317272).
- Unlike some other moth and butterfly caterpillars that feed on top of leaves, Agreeable Tiger Moths seem to prefer to feed under cover.
- They also change locations frequently and flee quickly from approaching predators.
- Both behaviors may help them avoid the notice of predators to a greater extent than those caterpillars that feed out in the open.
Agreeable Tiger Moths Are Just A Little Poisonous
- The Agreeable Tiger Moths’ habit of feeding under cover and trying to remain unnoticed by predators may be due to the fact that these caterpillars aren’t as toxic as some of their cousins.
- Moth and butterfly caterpillars feed on plants, many of which manufacture toxic compounds as an evolved defense against herbivory.
- Many moths and butterflies—including the Agreeable Tiger Moth—appropriate these toxic compounds for their own defense against being eaten by predators.
- These caterpillars eat these toxic compounds safely, then store the toxins in their own body tissues.
- Many predators sicken after eating these toxic caterpillars and thus learn to avoid them.
- But while the Agreeable Tiger Moth caterpillar does sequester toxic compounds in its body to a certain degree, it seems to be “middle of the road” compared to other species.
- A study that compared the ability of six butterfly and moth species to sequester iridoid glycosides produced by Narrow-Leafed Plantain (Plantago lanceota) plants found that:
- The Agreeable Tiger Moth caterpillars sequestered less than half the amount of iridoid glycosides sequestered by the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) caterpillars,
- Of the three Spilosoma species studied (S. congrua, S. virginica, and S. latipennis), only the Agreeable Tiger Moth sequestered any detectable amounts of iridoid glycosides (Bowers and Stamp 1997, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022535631980).
- A study that compared the ability of six butterfly and moth species to sequester iridoid glycosides produced by Narrow-Leafed Plantain (Plantago lanceota) plants found that:
