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Utetheisa pulchelloides

Crimson-speckled Footman

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Adult (Rarotonga)	47KB
Image:	Adult (Pitcairn) - red more extensive	56KB
Image:	Adult (pinned) and caterpillar	48KB
Image:	Caterpillar (Pitcairn)	66KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Crimson-speckled Footman

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Indonesia / Australia -Rapa (?Tuamotu, ?Ducie)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Land, coastal strand

KEY FEATURES: Medium moth (10-14mmTL) white with striking red and black dots and dashes.

Enlarged Image of 'Utetheisa pulchelloides'

Cook Islands Distribution

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Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
P

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
			+++

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Utetheisa pulchelloides Hampson, 1907
SYNONYMS: Utetheisa pulchelloides marshallorum

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; ATELOCERATA; HEXAPODA; INSECTA; PTERYGOTA; Lepidoptera; ARCTIIDAE

More Information

IDENTIFICATION: Medium moth (10-14mmTL) white with striking red and black dots and dashes. Fore wings buffish white with red and black markings. Hind wings shiny white distally edged in black, expanded in two places into 2 black patches; 2 black cell spots (possibly only on male). Underside fore wings white with red and black markings expanded into patches; hind wings less heavily marked in black. Head and Thorax orange white with 8 black spots on thorax. Abdomen white. Legs white. Antennae black.

GENERAL NOTE: The distinctive green, grey and white-peppered caterpillars, with white setae (hairs) are abundant on the silver-leaved small tree Tournefortia (Boraginaceae).

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: BESO99, specimen #95, 713, 716, ID J.Dugdale 4/2000. Pukapuka: fieldspecimens, 2/2004, G.McCormack with ID as Utetheisa pulchelloides.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM04a, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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