yellow-collared scape moth

(Cisseps fulvicollis)

yellow-collared scape moth
Photo by Alfredo Colon
  Hodges #

8267

 
 
Conservation Status
  IUCN Red List

not listed

     
  NatureServe

NNR - Unranked

     
  Minnesota

not listed

     
           
 
Description
 
 

Yellow-collared scape moth is a small to medium-sized, day flying, wasp-mimic, tiger moth. It occurs across North America from east coast to the west coast and from Texas to the Northwest Territories.

Adults are to ¾ (16 to 20 mm) in length and have a 1 to 17 16 (29 to 37 mm) wingspan. They look superficially similar to the closely related Virginia ctenucha but are smaller and narrower.

The head is black. The antennae are black and feather-like, with branches only on one side of most segments. The basal segment (scape) is long.

The thorax is black or dark brown. There are brightly colored scales on the first section of the thorax (prothorax) forming a broad collar that extends across the upper (dorsal) surface and down the sides. The scales are orange on most individuals, orangish-yellow or yellow on others.

The abdomen is black and often has a metallic blue iridescence. The forewings are dark brown to blackish-brown, long, and narrow. The hindwings are smaller, black around the edges, grayish-white and translucent with black veins in the middle. They are hidden when the moth is perched.

The caterpillar is up to 13 16 (3 cm) long. The thorax and abdomen are yellow with a black stripe down the middle (middorsal), a broad black stripe on each side, and a narrow brownish-orange stripe in the subdorsal area and in the subspiracular area. The head is pale brownish-orange, and shiny. On most caterpillars,there is a dark line across the face or dark markings around the eyes. The body is mostly hidden beneath dense tufts of long, stiff, dirty white hairs (seta). The setae rise from circular warts that are not colored. The warts on the second and third thoracic segment (T2 and T3) and on the ninth abdominal segment (A9) are enlarged and oval. The front and back parts of the body also have longer darker hairs. The abdominal leg-like structures (prolegs) are pale.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Total length: to ¾ (16 to 20 mm)

Wingspan: 1 to 17 16 (29 to 37 mm)

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
     
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Wet meadows and prairies, old fields

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

Probably two generations; June to September

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

Adults are active during the day. They are attracted to ultraviolet light. Caterpillars feed close to the ground at night and are rarely seen.

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

The cocoon is formed mostly from body hairs.

 
     
 

Larva Hosts

 
 

Grasses and sedges

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Nectar of flowers, especially goldenrods

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

7, 24, 27, 29, 30.

 
  10/21/2020      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Widespread; not common but sometimes locally abundant

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)  
 

Superfamily

Noctuoidea (noctuid moths)  
 

Family

Erebidae (underwing, tiger, tussock, and allied moths)  
 

Subfamily

Arctiinae (tiger and lichen moths)  
 

Tribe

Arctiini (tiger moths)  
  Subtribe Ctenuchina  
 

Genus

Cisseps  
       
 

In 2011 the family Arctiidae (tiger moths and lichen moths) was transferred to the family Erebidae mostly intact but demoted to a subfamily. The former subfamilies are now tribes, the former tribes now subtribes.

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

 

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

yellow-collared scape moth

The name scape moth refers to the long basal segment of the antennae (scape) on members of this genus. The term “yellow-collared” is a misnomer, since most individuals have an orange collar.

 
       

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Collar

In grasses: The area on the back of a grass leaf at the junction of the sheath and the blade. On moths: the upperside of the prothorax.

 

Costa

In plants: The central axis of a pinna, to which pinnules are attached. In Lepidoptera: The leading edge of the forewing.

 

Proleg

A fleshy structure on the abdomen of some insect larvae that functions as a leg, but lacks the five segments of a true insect leg.

 

Collar

In grasses: The area on the back of a grass leaf at the junction of the sheath and the blade. On moths: the upperside of the prothorax.

 

Scape

On plants: An erect, leafless stalk growing from the rootstock and supporting a flower or a flower cluster. On insects: The basal segment of the antenna.

 

Seta

A stiff, hair-like process on the outer surface of an organism. In Lepidoptera: A usually rigid bristle- or hair-like outgrowth used to sense touch. In mosses: The stalk supporting a spore-bearing capsule and supplying it with nutrients. Plural: setae. Adjective: setose.

 

Spiracle

A small opening on the surface of an insect through which the insect breathes.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Alfredo Colon

 
    yellow-collared scape moth   yellow-collared scape moth  
           
    yellow-collared scape moth   yellow-collared scape moth  
           
    yellow-collared scape moth   yellow-collared scape moth  
           
    yellow-collared scape moth      
 

Lynn Rubey

 
  A Yellow-collared Scape Moth in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge as it landed on a leaf.   yellow-collared scape moth  
           
  A Yellow-collared Scape Moth in flight in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge.   yellow-collared scape moth  
 

Luciearl

 
    yellow-collared scape moth      
           
 
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Other Videos
 
  Cisseps fulvicollis = YELLOW-COLLARED SCAPE MOTH
Rob Curtis
 
   
 
About

Published on Oct 15, 2016

Cisseps fulvicollis = YELLOW-COLLARED SCAPE MOTH

 
  Yellow-collared scape moth drinking nectar in flowers
GoTrails
 
   
 
About

Published on Jul 3, 2019

Yellow-collared scape moth drinking nectar and pollen in flowers | Wildlife, Animal Behavior, Nature, Insects | Lepidoptera, Heterocera, heteróceros, Nachtfalter, hétérocères, papillons de nuit, falene | Cisseps fulvicollis, Cisseps à col orangé | #moths, #insects, #GoTrails

 
       

 

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  Alfredo Colon
8/23/2019

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

yellow-collared scape moth  
  Alfredo Colon
8/19/2019

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota

yellow-collared scape moth  
  Lynn Rubey
8/13/2019

Location: Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge

A Yellow-collared Scape Moth in The Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge as it landed on a leaf.

yellow-collared scape moth  
  Luciearl
6/27/2018

Location: Fritz Loven Park, Lake Shore, MN

yellow-collared scape moth  
           
 
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Created: 7/9/2019

Last Updated:

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