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Asota speciosa, the specious tiger, formerly Aganais speciosa, is a moth of the subfamily Aganainae, now regarded as being within the family Erebidae. Formerly it was regarded variously as a member of the Arctiidae, the Hypsidae, and subsequently the family Aganaidae, which was formerly regarded as a family by some authorities.[1][2] The species is widespread in sub-Saharan Africa, such as in Sierra Leone, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mozambique and South Africa.

Specious tiger
Caterpillar of A. speciosa walking on gravel
Moth of A. speciosa laying on a leaf
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Noctuoidea
Family:	Erebidae
Genus:	Asota
Species:	A. speciosa
Binomial name
Asota speciosa (Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
Phalaena speciosa Drury, 1773 Aganais speciosa (Drury, 1773) Hypsa subretracta Walker, 1856 Hypsa undulifera Walker, 1856 Aganais aphidas Hopffer, 1858 Pseudhypsa baumanniana Karsch, 1895 Aganais unicolor Rothschild, 1896 Aganais conspicua Swinhoe, 1903

The larvae feed on certain latex-rich plants, mainly Ficus species (fig trees), both indigenous and domestic, but also on poisonous Acokanthera species.[3] They sabotage the latex defences of their host plants by biting partway through the midrib, severing the latex vessels before proceeding to feed on the portion of the leaf blade distal to the sabotage, which is no longer supplied with latex.[4]

References

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