Montana Field Guide

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- Kingdom - Animals - Animalia
  - Phylum - Spiders, Insects, and Crustaceans - Arthropoda
    - Class - Insects - Insecta
      - Order - Butterflies / Moths - Lepidoptera
        
        Family - Lichen Moths - Erebidae
        
        Species - Ranchman's Tiger Moth - Arctia virginalis

Ranchman's Tiger Moth - Arctia virginalis

Other Names: Platyprepia virginalis

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Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: SNR

Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:

External Links

General Description

The forewing of the Ranchman's Tiger Moth (Platyprepia virginalis) is black with many large and round yellow spots. The hindwing is variable, either orange with black bands or mostly black with orange spots. The thorax is black with dorsal-anterior patches of yellow. The wingspan is about 62 mm (USGS 2006).

Phenology

Ranchman's Tiger Moths fly during the day in early summer (USGS 2006).

Diagnostic Characteristics

St. Lawrence Tiger Moth (Platarctia parthenos) is similar to the Ranchman's Tiger Moth, but it's forewing is brown with small yellow spots and its thorax is red-brown. The St. Lawrence Tiger Moth is uncommon and restricted to the northern Rocky Mountain region including the Blue Mountains (USGS 2006).

Species Range

Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native

Range Comments

The Ranchman's Tiger Moth is common in meadows of western North America (USGS 2006).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database

Number of Observations: 40

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions

Relative Density

Recency

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)

Food Habits

The larvae are generalist feeders on foliage of herbaceous plants (USGS 2006).

References

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Dragonflies / Damselflies

Ferns and allies

Conifers

Flowering Plants (Dicots)

Flowering Plants (Monocots)

Citation for data on this website:
Ranchman's Tiger Moth — Arctia virginalis. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program. Retrieved on April 18, 2024, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=IILEY32010