Urania fulgens

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Urania swallowtail moth
Urania fulgens MHNT dos.jpg
Upperside
Urania fulgens MHNT ventre.jpg
Underside
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Uraniidae
Genus: Urania
Species:
U. fulgens
Binomial name
Urania fulgens
(Walker, 1854)
Synonyms
  • Cydimon cacica Guenee, 1857

Urania fulgens, the urania swallowtail moth or green page moth,[1] is a day-flying moth of the family Uraniidae. The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1854. It is found from Veracruz, Mexico, through Central America to northwestern South America (west of the Andes and south to Ecuador).[2][3] It is highly migratory and has been recorded as a vagrant to the US state of Texas.[3]

It is sometimes confused with the similar U. leilus, but that species is found east of the Andes in South America, is slightly larger, and has more white to the "tail".[2] The two have been treated as conspecific.[2]

As appears to be the case for all Urania, the larvae of U. fulgens feed exclusively on the toxic Omphalea species.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ Henderson, Carrol L. (2002). Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica. University of Texas Press. via – Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c Smith, N.G. (1972). "Migrations of the day-flying moth Urania in Central and South America". Caribbean Journal of Science. 12: 45-58
  3. ^ a b Quinn, M. (2011). "Urania Natural History". Texas Lep Information. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  4. ^ Lees, D.C. & Smith, N.G. (1991). "Foodplant Associations of the Uraniinae (Uraniidae) and their Systematic, Evolutionary, and Ecological Significance". Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 45(4): 296-347.Archived 2012-08-02 at the Wayback Machine
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