View source for Eligma narcissus

{{Short description|Species of moth}}
{{speciesbox
| name = Ailanthus defoliator
| image = Eligma narcissus.jpg
| image_caption =
| image2 =
| taxon = Eligma narcissus
| authority = ([[Pieter Cramer|Cramer]], 1775)<ref>[http://taibnet.sinica.edu.tw/chi/taibnet_species_detail.php?name_code=344815 ''Catalogue of Life in Taiwan'']</ref>
| synonyms =
*''Phalaena narcissus'' <small>Cramer, [1775]</small>
*''Eligma narcissus indica'' <small>Rothschild, 1896</small>
*''Eligma narcissus javanica'' <small>Rothschild, 1896</small>
*''Eligma narcissus philippinensis'' <small>Rothschild, 1896</small>
*''Eligma narcissus celebensis'' <small>Tams, 1935</small>
}}
'''''Eligma narcissus''''', the '''ailanthus defoliator''', is a [[moth]] in the family [[Nolidae]]. The species was [[Species description|first described]] by [[Pieter Cramer]] in 1775. It is found in [[tropical Asia]] and the subtropics of China, India, Sri Lanka, Java and Southeast Islands.
==Description==
Head and thorax greyish brown and spotted in black. Abdomen bright yellow with dorsal and lateral series of black spots. Forelegs are grey brown and spotted with black. Midlegs and hindlegs are yellowish with black spots on tibia. Tarsi grey brown. Forewings are greyish brown where costal area is with an olive tinge. There is an irregular and diffused curved white fascia from base to apex. Some basal and sub-basal black spots. A waved black line runs from lower angle of cell to inner margin. A submarginal series of black spots, those towards outer angle conjoined into streaks. Hindwings are bright yellow. Apical area is black, suffused or streaked with dark blue, and terminating at vein 1b. Cilia whitish at tips.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hampson |first=G. F. |authorlink=George Hampson |date=1894 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/180400#page/5/mode/1up |title=The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma: Moths Volume II |publisher=Taylor and Francis |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}</ref>
==Ecology==
The larvae feed on ''[[Canarium]]'' and ''[[Ailanthus]]'' species, including ''[[Ailanthus fordii|A. fordii]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hkmoths.com/noc/nol/eli-nar.html |title=hkmoths.com |access-date=2011-11-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426001115/http://www.hkmoths.com/noc/nol/eli-nar.html |archive-date=2012-04-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nbair.res.in/insectpests/Eligma-narcissus.php | title=''Eligma narcissus'' (Cramer) | publisher=ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources | accessdate=23 July 2016}}</ref> They are also found to feed on ''[[Ailanthus altissima]]'', ''[[Amygdalus persica]]'', and ''[[Toona sinensis]]'' from China.<ref>{{cite journal | title=Comparative Mitochondrial Genome Analysis of ''Eligma narcissus'' and other Lepidopteran Insects Reveals Conserved Mitochondrial Genome Organization and Phylogenetic Relationships | pmc=4879558 | pmid=27222440 | doi=10.1038/srep26387 | volume=6 | year=2016 | journal=Sci Rep | pages=26387 | last1 = Dai | first1 = LS | last2 = Zhu | first2 = BJ | last3 = Zhao | first3 = Y | last4 = Zhang | first4 = CF | last5 = Liu | first5 = CL}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Ailanthus triphysa(1).jpg|''[[Ailanthus triphysa]]'' leaves with larva of ''Eligma narcissus''
File:Eligma narcissus at Kadavoor.jpg|Larva hanging on silk from ''[[Ailanthus triphysa]]''
</gallery>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Commonscat|}}
*Shivalingaswamy, Timalapur M. (2012). ''Biology of the Ailanthus Defoliator, ''Eligma narcissus'' (Cramer): ''Eligma narcissus'' (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): A defoliator of ''Ailanthus'' spp'' {{isbn|978-3659106927}}
*[http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1811746002 ''Eligma narcissus'' caterpillar]
*[http://www.kmnh.jp/info/publication/date/4-15-E-Ueda_Saigusa.pdf On the copulation mechanism of ''Eligma narcissus'']{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}
{{Taxonbar |from=Q5360830}}
[[Category:Moths described in 1775]]
[[Category:Eligminae]]
[[Category:Moths of Japan]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Pieter Cramer]]
{{Nolidae-stub}}