Lyssa zampa, the tropical swallowtail moth or Laos brown butterfly,[1] is a moth of the family Uraniidae. The species was first described by British entomologist Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1869.[2]

Lyssa zampa
Lyssa zampa. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Uraniidae
Genus: Lyssa
Species:
L. zampa
Binomial name
Lyssa zampa
Butler, 1869
Synonyms
  • Nyctalemon zampa Butler, 1869
  • Nyctalemon crameri Boisduval, 1874
  • Nyctalemon najabula Moore, 1877
  • Nyctalemon docile Butler, 1877
  • Nyctalemon dilutus Röber, 1927

The species is native to a wide range of tropical South-East Asia: Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.[3] It is also recorded from Andaman Islands, southern China, the Himalayas,[4] and sporadically in East Asia: Taiwan, Japan[3] and South Korea.[5] The forewing length is about 70 mm (2.8 in)[6] and the wingspan reaches a maximum of 160 mm (6.3 in).[7]

It is most abundant from May to November depending on the location.[8][9] The genus Lyssa is generally categorized as a nocturnal or crepuscular group, but this species has been found to be active both during the day and at night. This species is also known for its mass emergence and migration.[3][9] Because of that ecology and the habit that they are often attracted by urban bright lights, this species can attract human attention.[3][1]

The larvae feed on Endospermum and other members of the rubber tree family (Euphorbiaceae).[3][4][9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Malaysia swarmed by giant moths - BBC News". BBC News. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2015.
  2. ^ Arthur G. Butler (1869). "Descriptions of species of Lepidoptera, confounded with others described by Linnæus and Fabricius". The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. 5: 273.
  3. ^ a b c d e Anuj Jain; Yi-Kai Tea (2020). "Mass emergence of the tropical swallowtail moth Lyssa zampa (Lepidoptera: Uraniidae: Uraniinae) in Singapore, with notes on its partial life history". Tropical Lepidoptera Research. 30 (1): 20–27. doi:10.5281/zenodo.3764165.
  4. ^ a b Jeremy Daniel Holloway (1998). "SUBFAMILY URANIINAE Lyssa zampa Butler". Part.8 Family Castniidae, Callidulidae, Drepanidae and Uraniidae. The Moths of Borneo. Vol. 8. Southdene.
  5. ^ Heon-Cheon Jeong; Min Jee Kim; Iksoo Kim; Sei-Woong Choi (2016). "A new record of Lyssa zampa (Butler) from Korea". Journal of Species Research. 5 (2): 220–222. doi:10.12651/JSR.2016.5.2.220.
  6. ^ Yasunori Kishida, ed. (2011). The standard of moths in Japan 1. Gakken. p. 130. ISBN 9784054038455.
  7. ^ Susan Myers: Wildlife in Southeast Asia, Princeton Pocket Guides, Princeton University, 2016, ISBN 978-0-691-15485-5, S. 236
  8. ^ "Tropical Swallowtail Moth (Lyssa zampa)". iNaturalist.
  9. ^ a b c David C. Lees; Neal G. Smith (1991). "Foodplant associations of the Uraniinae (Uraniidae) and their systematic, evolutionary, and ecological significance" (PDF). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. 45 (4): 296–347.
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