Erasmia pulchella
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Erasmia pulchella is a species of moth in the burnet moth family Zygaenidae and in the subfamily Chalcosiinae. It was described by Frederick William Hope in 1840. It is found throughout Southeast Asia, with its range stretching from northern India, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Taiwan, and Japan. It is the type species of the genus Erasmia.
The moth's larvae feed on Helicia cochinchinensis, and they build up toxic cyanide compounds within its body. As a deterrent, the moths are brightly colored to serve as aposematic coloration. Additionally, under threat, the adult moths can exude toxins in the form of a foam that is typically exuded from the neck. The chemical compounds linamarin and lotaustralin have been isolated from the moth as specific noxious chemicals. Various subspecies exude the toxins through various locations. There are six known subspecies of Erasmia pulchella.
The moth is known as サツマニシキ, Satsuma-nishiki in Japanese, the name refers to the resemblance of the moth's wings to nishiki cloth, a type of dyed silk cloth with interwoven gold thread. The Chinese name for the moth is 山龍眼螢斑蛾, Shān lóngyǎn yíng bān é, "Mountain longan moth" and 雙星錦斑蛾, Shuāngxīng jǐn bān é, "Double star firefly moth". The former refers to its diet of Helicia cochinchinensis and the latter refers to its wing patterns. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taipei | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Erasmia pulchella sighting in Taipei on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 455th most-seen of the 765 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Erasmia pulchella in Taipei on a given day, against under 5% in May–September and November–March, the lowest months.
Only Taipei, in our data
Taipei is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Erasmia pulchella sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Zygaenidae
The closest relatives of the Erasmia pulchella that you can see in Taipei (family Zygaenidae, Burnet Moths) are Histia flabellicornis (about 20%), Red Slug Caterpillar (about 10%) and Gynautocera rubriscutellata (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Erasmia pulchella is recorded against all the insects logged in Taipei (13 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
