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Hypercompe caudata
A moth from the dry forest surrounding Guayllabamba.
Dry forest
Hmm, I found one report from Venezuela. Typically it is North- and Central American species. I am not sure if this one is really found in Ecuador. It looks very similar to Caudata, I must admit, but that's with most of Hypercompe sp. the case. Personally I still would go with Hypercompe sp.
My guess is Hypercompe caudata, after checking against specimens at the National Museum of Natural Sciences in Quito.
Erebidae, Arctiinae, Arctiini, Hypercompe sp., close to Hypercompe cunigunda or Hypercompe ocularia, just to mention 2 common species. There are at least 80 species of Hypercompe in the Americas and I think you need DNA from a native specimen to get seriously down to species level. The size, shape and location of all these spots are important, however, you still have a great variability within the same species! I would go with Hypercompe sp..
http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Tax...
http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/And...
http://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/And...
Spotted on Apr 9, 2013
Submitted on Apr 19, 2013
+1
