Long-Tailed Burnet Moths (Lepidoptera: Himantopteridae)

Long-tailed burnet moths, family Himantopteridae, include 56 species from Africa and tropical Asia; formerly included in Zygaenidae. The family is in the superfamily Sesioidea in the section Tineina, subsection Sesiina, of the division Ditrysia. Adults small to medium size (16–42 mm wingspan), with head scaling average; haustellum naked; labial palpi upcurved; maxillary palpi 1 to 2-segmented; antennae mostly bipectinate. Wings triangular; hindwings with extremely long tails (Fig. 62). Maculation usually colorful, with spots on the hindwing broader basal area; tails usually darker. Adults are diurnal but few are known biologically. Larvae are leaf skeletonizers, often communal; sometimes massing in the 1,000s as they move down the host trunk before pupating in soil; slug-like, with concealed head. Known host plants are in Dipterocarpaceae.

Long-Tailed Burnet Moths (Lepidoptera: Himantopteridae), Figure 62

Example of long-tailed burnet moths (Himantopteridae), Himantopterus fuscinervis...