Amerila

Familia: Erebidae
Subfamilia: Arctiinae
Tribus: Amerilini
Genus: Amerila
Species: A. abdominalis – A. accra – A. affinis – A. alberti – A. albivitrea – A. aldabrensis – A. alexandrae – A. androfusca – A. arthusbertrand – A. astreus – A. bauri – A. bipartita – A. brunnea – A. bubo – A. castanea – A. catinca – A. cinyra – A. crokeri – A. curta – A. erythropus – A. eugenia – A. femina – A. fennia – A. fumida – A. fuscivena – A. howardi – A. kiellandi – A. kuehni – A. lactea – A. leucoptera – A. lineolata – A. lucida – A. lupia – A. luteibarba – A. madagascariensis – A. magnifica – A. makadara – A. mulleri – A. myrrha – A. nigrivenosa – A. nigroapicalis – A. nigropunctata – A. niveivitrea – A. omissa – A. phaedra – A. piepersii – A. puella – A. rhodopa – A. rosenfeldae – A. roseomarginata – A. rubondoi – A. rubripes – A. rufifemur – A. rufitarsis – A. serica – A. shimbaensis – A. simillima – A. syntomina – A. thermochroa – A. timolis – A. vidua – A. vitrea
Uncertain names not cited in main catalogues:

A. canara – A. lurida – A. melanthus – A. saucia – A. sericea
Name

Amerila Walker, 1855

Type species: Sphinx astreus Drury, 1773
Synonyms

Canopus Walker, 1855. Type species: Canopus bubo Walker, 1855.
Phryganeomorpha Wallengren, 1858. Type species: Chelonia madagascariensis Boisduval, 1847.
Amblythyris Mabille, 1879. Type species: Amblythyris radama Mabille, 1879.
Gastrochrysia Kiriakoff, 1954. Type species: Gastrochrysia lineolata Kiriakoff, 1954.
Euthoracia Hulstaert, 1923. Type species: Caryatis syntomina Butler, 1878.
Rhodogastria auct., nec Hübner, [1819]

Amerila crokeri

References

Dubatolov, V.V., 2009: Reviewing the African tiger-moth genera: 1. A new genus, two new subgenera and a species list from the expedition to Malawi by V. Kovtunovich & P. Ustjuzhanin in 2008-2009, with further taxonomic notes on South African Arctiinae. Atalanta 40 (1-2): 285–301. Full article: [1].
Dubatolov, V.V., 2010: Tiger-moths of Eurasia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) (Nyctemerini by Rob de Vos & Vladimir V. Dubatolov). Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 65: 1–106, Marktleuthen.
Goodger, D.T. & Watson, A., 1995: The Afrotropical Tiger-Moths. An illustrated catalogue, with generic diagnosis and species distribution, of the Afrotropical Arctiinae (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae): 1–55, Apollo Books Aps.: Stenstrup, Denmark.
Edwards, E.D., 1996: Arctiidae: 278–286, 368-370. In: Nielsen, E., Edwards, E., Rangsi T., Edwards E.D., Nielsen E.S. & Rangsi, T.V. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera 4: xiv+529, CSIRO: Melbourne.
Häuser, Ch. L. & Boppre, M., 1997: A revision of the Afrotropical taxa of the genus Amerila Walker (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). Systematic Entomology 22 (1): 1–44.
Kôda, N., 1989: A Generic Classification of the Subfamily Arctiinae of the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions based on the Male and Female Genitalia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) Part I. Tyô to Ga 38 (3): 153–237. Abstract and full article: [2].
Przybyłowicz, L., Tarcz, S., László, G.M., Sáfián, S. & Zilli, A. 2019. Revision of the Amerila syntomina Species Complex with Description of a New Species from West Africa (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae). Annales Zoologici 69(4): 703-717. DOI: 10.3161/00034541ANZ2019.69.4.006. Paywall. Reference page.
Spitsyn, V.M. & Bolotov, I.N. 2020c. A review of the tiger moth genus Amerila Walker, 1855 from Flores Island, Indonesia, with a description of a new species (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae). Ecologica Montenegrina 33: 1-7. DOI: 10.37828/em.2020.33.1. Open access. Reference page.

Amerila is a genus of moths in the subfamily Arctiinae. A number of species in this genus have a special defence mechanism when they are in their adult stage. When disturbed, they exude a frothy yellow fluid from glands beside the eyes, while making a sizzling noise to ward off their attacker. Similar behaviour has been observed in fertilised females of the North-American moth Utetheisa ornatrix.

The genus is placed in a monotypic tribe Amerilini, described by Vladimir Viktorovitch Dubatolov in 2010. They are sometimes (e.g. in the "Erebidae" scheme) incorrectly merged into the Phaegopterini, but morphologically the tribe is related to Callimorphini. The elder name Rhodogastriini Kiriakoff, 1950 was based on incorrectly determined genus Rhodogastria (=Amerila in modern sense).

Species

Amerila abdominalis (Rothschild, 1933)
Amerila accra (Strand, 1919)
Amerila affinis (Rothschild, 1910)
Amerila alberti (Rothschild, 1910)
Amerila albivitrea (Hampson, 1901)
Amerila aldabrensis (Fryer, 1912)
Amerila androfusca (Pinhey, 1952)
Amerila arthusbertrand (Guérin-Méneville, 1830)
Amerila astreus (Drury, 1773)
Amerila bauri (Möschler, 1884)
Amerila bipartita (Rothschild, 1910)
Amerila brunnea (Hampson, 1901)
Amerila bubo (Walker, 1855)
Amerila castanea (Hampson, 1911)
Amerila catinca Häuser et Boppre, 1997
Amerila cynira (Muller, 1980), nomen nudum
Amerila crokeri (MacLeay, 1826)
Amerila curta (Rothschild, 1917)
Amerila erythropus (Rothschild, 1917)
Amerila eugenia (Fabricius, 1794)
Amerila femina (Berio, 1935)
Amerila fennia (Druce, 1887)
Amerila fumida (Swinhoe, 1901)
Amerila fuscivena (Hampson, 1916)
Amerila howardi (Pinhey, 1955)
Amerila kiellandi Häuser et Boppre, 1997
Amerila kuehni (Rothschild, 1910)
Amerila lactea (Rothschild, 1910)
Amerila leucoptera (Hampson, 1901)
Amerila lineolata (Kiriakoff, 1954)
Amerila lucida (Muller, 1980), nomen nudum
Amerila lupia (Druce, 1887)
Amerila luteibarba (Hampson, 1901)
Amerila madagascariensis (Boisduval, 1847)
Amerila magnifica (Rothschild, 1910)
Amerila makadara Häuser et Boppre, 1997
Amerila mulleri Häuser et Boppre, 1997
Amerila myrrha (Muller, 1980), nomen nudum
Amerila nigrivenosa (Grünberg, 1910)
Amerila nigroapicalis (Aurivillius, 1900)
Amerila nigropunctata (Bethune-Baker, 1908)
Amerila niveivitrea (Bartel, 1903)
Amerila omissa (Rothschild, 1910)
Amerila phaedra Weymer, 1892
Amerila piepersii Snellen, 1879
Amerila puella (Fabricius, [1794])
Amerila rhodopa Walker, 1865
Amerila roseomarginata (Rothschild, 1910)
Amerila rubripes Walker, 1865
Amerila rufifemur (Walker, 1855)
Amerila rufitarsis (Rothschild, 1917)
Amerila serica Meyrick, 1886
Amerila shimbaensis Häuser et Boppre, 1997
Amerila simillima (Rothschild, 1917)
Amerila syntomina (Butler, 1878)
Amerila thermochroa (Hampson, 1916)
Amerila timolis (Rothschild, 1914)
Amerila vidua (Cramer, 1780)
Amerila vitrea Plötz, 1880

Incorrectly placed species

Amerila atrivena Hampson, 1907 (in Dubatolovia, Spilosomini)
Amerila hersilia Druce, 1887 (in Caryatis, Nyctemerini)
Amerila phileta (Drury, 1782) (in Caryatis, Nyctemerini)
Amerila stenoperas Hampson, 1910 (in Caryatis, Nyctemerini)

Note

Caryatis species are not morphologically related to Amerila.
References

Dubatolov, V.V., 2009: Reviewing the African tiger-moth genera: 1. A new genus, two new subgenera and a species list from the expedition to Malawi by V. Kovtunovich & P. Ustjuzhanin in 2008-2009, with further taxonomic notes on South African Arctiinae. Atalanta 40 (1-2): 285-301.
Dubatolov, V.V., 2010: Tiger-moths of Eurasia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) (Nyctemerini by Rob de Vos & Vladimir V. Dubatolov). Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 65: 1-106, Marktleuthen.
Goodger, D.T. & Watson, A., 1995: The Afrotropical Tiger-Moths. An illustrated catalogue, with generic diagnosis and species distribution, of the Afrotropical Arctiinae (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae): 1-55, Apollo Books Aps.: Stenstrup, Denmark.
Edwards, E.D., 1996: Arctiidae: 278-286, 368-370. In: Nielsen, E., Edwards, E., Rangsi T., Edwards E.D., Nielsen E.S. & Rangsi, T.V. Monographs on Australian Lepidoptera 4: xiv+529, CSIRO: Melbourne.
Häuser, Ch. L. & Boppre, M., 1997: A revision of the Afrotropical taxa of the genus Amerila Walker (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae). Systematic Entomology 22 (1): 1-44.
Kôda, N., 1989: A Generic Classification of the Subfamily Arctiinae of the Palaearctic and Oriental Regions based on the Male and Female Genitalia (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) Part I. Tyô to Ga 38 (3): 153-237. Abstract and full article: [1].