Epicallia villica (Linnaeus, 1758)

Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturae, ed. 10, vol. 1: p. 501, no. 24.
Described in the genus Phalaena (Bombyx). Translated from the Latin
original.

villica. 24. Phalaena Bombyx without tongue, with deflexed black wings with
eight whitish spots, the lower ones tawny spotted with black.
Merian. eur. 1. t. 6. Reaum. ins. 1. t. 31. f. 4-6. Alb. ins. t. 21. Wilk.
pap. 18. t. 3. a. 2. Frisch. ins. 10. t. 2.
Lives on Ulmus, Urtica, Alsine.
Larva hirsute, ferruginous.

Hampson, G. F. (1901). Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British
Museum, vol. 3: pp. 466-467. As Arctia villica.

2062. Arctia villica.

Bombyx villica, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 501 (1758); Esp. Schmett. iii.
p. 185, pl. 35; Hubn. Eur. Schmett. ii. f. 136; Godt. Lep. Fr. iv. p. 336,
pl. 35. f. 1; Steph. Ill. Brit. Ent., Haust. ii. p. 71; Oberth. Et. Ent.
xx. pls. xvi.-xvii.; Staud. Cat. p. 57; Kirby, Cat. Het. p. 259.
Bombyx vidua, Poda, Mus. Graec. p. 88 (1761).
Chelonia villica, var. angelica, Boisd. Ind. Meth. p. 42 (1829).
Arctia domiduca, Meig. Eur. Schmett. iii. p. 267, pl. 123. f. 12 (1830).
Bombyx konewkaii, Freyer, Neue Beitr. i. p. 61, pl. 33. ff. 1, 2 (1831);
Bell. Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. (3) viii. p. 686, pl. 12. f. 5.
Bombyx angelica, Geyer, Eur. Schmett. ii. ff. 326, 327 (1841).
Euprepia villica, var. sicula, Zell. Isis, 1847, p. 433.
Arctia villica, var. fulminans, Staud. Cat. p. 57 (1871).
Arctia villica, var. confluens, Rom. Mem. i. p. 87, pl. 4. f. 9 (1884).

Head and thorax black; tegulae with triangular white patches; some crimson
behind the eyes; pectus mostly crimson; coxae mostly and femora above
crimson; abdomen scarlet, orange-yellow towards base of dorsum; dorsal and
lateral series of black points and sublateral stripes. Fore wing black,
with triangular white patch at base in and below cell; antemedial and
medial rounded spots in and below cell; a quadrate postmedial patch below
costa, sometimes with one or two points beyond it, and a somewhat
triangular patch from below vein 4 almost to termen above tornus; a
quadrate subterminal spot on vein 5. Hind wing orange-yellow, with
antemedial black spots on costa, median nervure, and vein 1, the two former
sometimes conjoined; spots at angles of cell; a subterminal band from costa
to vein 4, more or less strongly confluent with spots on termen at apex and
middle; subterminal rounded spots on vein 2 and on vein 1 nearer termen.
Underside of fore wing with scarlet postmedial spot on costa, or the apical
part of costa scarlet; hind wing with the costal and more or less of
terminal areas scarlet.

Ab. 1. angelica. The white markings replaced by sulphur-yellow.--France,
Spain, Greece.

Ab. 2. konewkaii. Fore wing with the spots more or less conjoined into
bands.--Italy, Spain, Persia.

Ab. 3. Fore wing with the markings more or less conjoined longitudinally.

Ab. 4. Fore wing yellow, with the costa, termen, an apical patch, three
spots below costa and one at lower angle of cell black; hind wing with some
black on termen only.

Ab. 5. Hind wing more or less suffused with brown, sometimes wholly so
except basal inner area.

Ab. 6. fulminans. Hind wing scarlet.--Syria.

Hab. Europe except extreme north, Germany, Zeller Coll., Switzerland, Frey
Coll., Corsica (Yerbury), Greece (Merlin); Asia Minor, Syracuse, Zeller
Coll.; Armenia. Exp., ♂ 66, ♀ 70 millim.

Larva. Meyr. Brit. Lep. p. 42; Barrett, Lep. Brit. p. 272, pl. 73. f. 1.
Black; hairs dark brown; spiracles sometimes white; head deep red.
Food-plants: Myosotis, Plantago, Rumex, Ulex, etc. 8-5.

Hampson, G. F. (1920). Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British
Museum, Supplement 2: pp. 501-502. As Arctia villica.

2062. Arctia villica, insert:

ab. fasciata, Spuler, Eur. Schmett. ii. p. 135 (1906).
Fore wing with the spots forming bands.
ab. ursula, Schultz, Ent. Zeitschr. Guben, xviii. p. 111 (1904).
radiata, Spuler, Eur. Schmett. ii. p. 135 (1906).
Fore wing with the spots conjoined into longitudinal fasciae.
ab. paucimaculata, Spuler, Schmett. Eur. ii. p. 135 (1906).
Fore wing with the spots reduced in size.
ab. strandi, Schultz, Ent. Zeitschr. Guben, xviii. p. 109 (1904).
medionigra, Spuler, Schmett. Eur. ii. p. 135 (1906).
Fore wing with the spots reduced in number.
ab. neglecta, Schultz, Ent. Zeitschr. Guben, xviii. p. 114 (1904).
Fore wing with only traces of black markings.
ab. caliginosa, Schultz, Ent. Zeitschr. Guben, xviii. p. 110 (1904).
Fore wing almost entirely black.
ab. illustris, Schultz, Ent. Zeitschr. Guben, xviii. p. 113 (1904).
Fore and hind wings almost without spots.
ab. contracta, Schultz, Ent. Zeitschr. Guben, xviii. p. 110 (1904).
Hind wing with black bands.
ab. krodeli, Schultz, Ent. Zeitschr. Guben, xviii. p. 113 (1904).
Hind wing with the costal area blackened.
ab. pallida, Schultz, Ent. Zeitschr. Guben, xviii. p. 105 (1904).
Fore wing with the ground-colour grey.
ab. brunnescens, Schultz, Ent. Zeitschr. Guben, xviii. p. 105 (1904).
Hind wing with the ground-colour brown.
var. bellieri, Failla, Nat. Sicil. vii. p. 203 (1888).
chavigneriei, Failla, Nat. Sicil. x. p. 28 (1891).

Seitz, A. (1910). Arctia. In: Seitz, A. (ed.), The Macrolepidoptera of the
World, vol. 2, The Palaearctic Bombyces and Sphinges: p. 99, pl. 18 c.
(German edition: Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 2: 99.) As Arctia
villica.

A. villica L. (18 c). The Cream-spot Tiger has black forewing with usually
rounded ivory white spots, and bright yellow hindwing spotted with black;
abdomen red with black dorsal spots to the tip; triangular white spots on
the tegulae. In Northern and Central Europe with the exception of the
Arctic region; in varieties southward to the Mediterranean and eastward to
Anterior Asia. -- The species varies very much individually. The white
spots of the forewing may merge together to form transverse bands (ab.
fasciata) or longitudinal ones (ab. radiata, ursula); they may be reduced
in size (ab. paucimaculata) or in number (ab. medionigra, strandi). On the
other hand, the black ground-colour can be almost superseded by the white
spots, so that only traces of it remain, as in ab. neglecta Schultz. Again,
specimens are known which are almost entirely black: ab. caliginosa
Schultz. If both the white forewing and the hindwing are almost unspotted
we have ab. illustris Schultz. Oberthur (Etudes XX, plate 16, 17) figures a
great many aberrations without proposing any names, in which we gladly
follow him; so do Stichel and Winterstein in Iris 17 plate 6, and 18 plate
2. Especially in England, where such sports are very much sought after, the
collections are rich in such abnormal specimens. To these belong also the
more common form ab. contracta Schultz, whose hindwing bears black bands,
and ab. krodeli Schultz, in which the costal margin of the hindwing is
blackened. Sometimes the ground-colour varies; that of the forewing may be
grey: ab. pallida Schultz, while that of the hindwing is brown in ab.
brunnescens Schultz. -- Local variations of villica both in colour and
markings are more interesting. In konewkai Frr. (= domiduca Mgr.) (18 c),
from Italy, South Spain and Persia, as well as the lower altitudes in
Sicily, the white spots of the forewing and usually also the inner discal
spots of the hindwing are united to form bands. -- In bellieri Failla (=
chavignieri Failla, brunhilda Stgr. i. l.) (18 c), from the higher
altitudes of Sicily, both the ground-colour of the forewing and the spots
on the hindwing are chestnut instead of black. -- angelica Bdv. (18 c) has
the spots of the forewing lemon-yellow instead of white; from South Europe,
North Africa and Asia Minor, local. -- confluens Rom. is a form with the
spots of the forewing confluent, which is however constant in localities
where true villica does not occur, as in North Persia, Armenia and parts of
Turkestan. It is characteristic of the form that the two large external
spots are broadly confluent, while the inner ones are more or less
isolated. -- fulminans Stgr., from Syria, has the hindwing bright red
instead of yellow. -- Egg white. Larva iron-black, with reddish brown head
and legs, black warts bearing tufts of brown and grey hair. Stigmata white.
Until the beginning of May on low-growing plants. Pupa in a coarse cocoon,
black with brown segmental incisions and a tuft of bristles at the apex.
Moth in June and the beginning of July, almost everywhere in East Europe,
in the west more sporadical and absent in large districts or becoming rarer
from year to year.