common name: black and yellow lichen moth (suggested common name)
scientific name: Lycomorpha pholus (Drury) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Arctiinae: Lithosiini)

Introduction - Synonymy - Distribution - Description - Life Cycle - Hosts - Mimicry - Selected References

Introduction

adult black and yellow lichen moth

banded woolly bear caterpillar

Tiger moths are found in all of the zoogeographical regions (six geographical divisions of the world that are used to study the occurrence of land animals) including the Nearctic (North America). However, they are most common in the Neotropics (Mexico south of the Tropic of Cancer, Central and South America, and the West Indies) (Scoble 1995). Species found in Florida include the bella moth, Utetheisa bella (Linnaeus); the oleander moth, Syntomeida epilais (Walker); and the giant leopard moth, Hypercompe scribonia (Stoll).

adult bella moth

oleander moth

giant leopard moth

Some caterpillars in the tiger moth subfamily are considered nuisance species, including the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea (Drury). Others, such as the caterpillar of the cinnabar moth, Tyria jacobaeae (Linnaeus), are beneficial. The cinnabar moth caterpillar is used as a successful biological control agent of tansy ragwort in the Pacific Northwest.

fall webworms

adult cinnabar moth

cinnabar moth caterpillar

The black and yellow lichen moth is also a member of the tribe Lithosiini (subfamily Arctiinae), the lichen moths. The common name of the tribe refers to the frequent choice of lichens as food sources by the caterpillars. Like other tiger moths, the lichen moths are also most common in the Neotropics. They are generally smaller than other tiger moths, and the adults may be either brightly colored or drab.

painted lichen moth

little white lichen moth

The caterpillars in Lithosiini also have much fewer setae covering their bodies, making them appear bare in comparison to the woolly bears.

woolly bear caterpillar

lichen moth caterpillar

Synonymy

Distribution

Description

adult black and yellow lichen moth

The orange-patched smoky moth, Pyromorpha dimidiata Herrich-Schäffer, has a similar color pattern. This moth has a range that partially overlaps that of the black and yellow lichen moth. However, it only occurs as far west as Missouri (Covell 1984). Both moths can be found flying at the same time of the year and both are diurnal (active during the day). The orange-patched smoky moth can be distinguished from the black and yellow lichen moth because the former has no orange-yellow scales on its hind wing. Also, its wings appear somewhat translucent, unlike the black and yellow lichen moth.

orange-patched smoky moth

Larvae: The caterpillars of the black and yellow lichen moth are described as having sparse hairs and being similar in appearance to those of the genus Hypoprepia (Forbes 1960).

Life Cycle

The adults and caterpillars of the subfamily, Arctiinae, are often defended from predators, including birds and bats, and from parasitoids, such as some flies and wasps, by chemical compounds. The compounds are often obtained from the hosts on which the caterpillars feed. The compounds are transferred to the adults when the caterpillar pupates. For the black and yellow lichen moth, these chemicals are lichen phenolics, defensive compounds produced by the fungal component of the lichen.

Hosts

Mimicry

black and yellow lichen moth

orange-patched smoky moth

lycid beetle

Caterpillars and adult moths from the family Zygaenidae, including the orange-patched smoky moth, are chemically defended by hydrocyanic acid that they release when threatened (Powell and Opler 2009).

Selected References

• Conner WE. (editor) 2009. Tiger Moths and Woolly Bears: Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution of the Arctiidae. Oxford University Press. New York, New York. 303 pp.
• Covell CV. 1984. A Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America. Special Publication Number 12. Virginia Museum of Natural History. Martinsville, Virginia. 496 pp.
• Forbes WTM. 1960. Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States, part IV: Agaristidae through Nymphalidae including Butterflies. Cornell University Agriculture Experiment Station Memoir 371. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
• Powell JA, Opler PA. 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. Berkeley, California. 369 pp.
• Scoble MJ. 1995. The Lepidoptera Form, Function and Diversity. The Natural History Museum. Oxford University Press. New York, New York. 404 pp.
• Simmons, R. 2009. Adaptive coloration and mimicry. In Tiger Moths and Woolly Bears: Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution of the Arctiidae. (Conner WE, editor). Oxford University Press. New York, New York.
• Wagner DL, Rota J, McCabe TL. 2008. Larva of Abablemma (Noctuidae) with notes on algivory and lichenivory in macrolepidoptera. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 101: 40-52.

Author: Clare Scott, University of Florida
Photographs: Tom Murray; Don Hall (retired), University of Florida; Howard Ensign Evans and Whitney Crenshaw,, Colorado State University; G. Keith Douce, University of Georgia; Eric Coombs, Oregon Department of Agriculture; David Cappaert, Michigan State University; John Himmelman; Phil Huntley-Franck; Jason Dombroskie, University of Alberta; Clare Scott, University of Florida; Jim Varger; Robert Patterson, Moth Photographers Group
Project Coordinator: Thomas R. Fasulo, University of Florida
Publication Number: EENY-479
Publication Date: July 2010
Copyright 2010 University of Florida

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