-Unnamed Species- (Amastus flavicauda)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Amastus (?) flavicauda ("yellow tailed")

Amastus flavicauda at San Gerardo de Dota, Costa Rice - November 2025

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: ?  /  Length: ?  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

A species of tiger moth with a distinctive red abdomen with a yellow tip to its tail. It has mostly been reported from Costa Rica but there are also records from Guatemala to Ecuador. Little information seems to be recorded in the English language at present.
 
Related Species: 
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Erebidae
Genus: Amastus
SUBSPECIES: None - monotypic
 
- Sighting Locations -

COSTA RICA 

Found in High Altitude Montane Forest
- COSTA RICA 2025 TRIP: Seen at San Gerardo de Dota 

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Ruby Tiger Moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa)

OTHER NAMES: N/A
Latin Etymology: Phragmatobia (?) fuliginosa ("sooty") 

Caterpillar of Ruby Tiger Moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) at Geddington, Northants, UK - October 2024

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: ?  /  Length: ?  /  Wingspan: 35-45mm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

An extremely widely distibuted species found across much of the Paleactic as well as into North America. As caterpillars they have a broad diet including some of our most common wild plants like blackberries, blackthorn, willows, docks, clovers, heather and rosebay willowherb. As adults they gain a bright orange abdomen with orange spots on the side.
 
Related Species: 
Order: Lepidoptera 
Family: Noctuidae 
Genus: Phragmatobia 
SUBSPECIES: P. f. borealis, P. f. melitensis, P. f. paghmani, P. f. pulverulenta, P. f. rubricosa, P. f. taurica 
 
- Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM A fairly common resident

 - Seen in Geddington 

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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Milkweed Tussock Moth (Euchaetes egle)

OTHER NAMES: Milkweed Tiger Moth
Latin Etymology: Euchaetes ("well bristled") egle (?)

Juvenile Milkweed Tussock Moth (Euchaetes egle) at St Charles, Illinois, USA - August 2024

Featured Subspecies: ?
Weight: g/kg  /  Length: 3.2cm  /  Wingspan: 35-43mm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated 

A fairly subdued moth with a rather flamboyant caterpillar form - as caterpillars, they feed on toxic chemicals such as milkweeds to make the adult forms toxic to predators such as bats. Milkweeds produce chemicals to deter predators but these moths have learned to first skeletonise the leaves then, when large enough, sever the vessels that bring the noxious substance.
 
Related Species: 
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Erebidae
Genus: Euchaetes
SUBSPECIES: ?
 
- Sighting Locations -

UNITED STATES -  Widely distributed species in the lower 48
 - CHICAGO TO ALASKA ROADTRIP 2024: Seen in Campton, Illinois  

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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