Latex-rich-plants

Guides

• Pygarctia roseicapitis

  Red-headed Pygarctia Moth

  Pygarctia roseicapitis is a tiger moth in the family Erebidae, found in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Adults are active from May to September and have forewings 14–17 mm in length. The species is notable for producing acoustic warning signals to deter bat predators, a behavior called acoustic aposematism. Larvae are specialists on latex-rich Euphorbiaceae and exhibit distinctive trenching behavior—cutting leaf veins before feeding to reduce latex flow.

  acoustic-aposematismtrenching-behaviorlatex-rich-plantsEuphorbia-specialistbat-moth-interactionsanti-predator-defense