Yellow-collared scape moth (Cisseps fulvicollis)
This week’s crawly is a fashion forward wasp mimic with a flair for dramatic warning colors. Meet the yellow-collared scape moth (Cisseps fulvicollis).
What’s in a name? There’s a lot to unpack with this crawly’s moniker. First is a fun fact: Their genus name Cisseps wasn’t the original genus name. First it was Scepsis, but that had already been given to a genus of horseflies, so they anagrammed it to Cissepes!
Their species name, fulvicollis, is a combination of Latin words meaning “reddish yellow neck.”
Then there’s the common name, which is mostly self-explanatory, but what is a “scape” as in “scape moth?” In mothy terms, the first segment of a moth’s antennae is called the “scape.” The yellow-collared and their cousins have elongated scapes so they are named for one of their defining features.
Yellows are tiger moths (Arctiini) in the subtribe Ctenuchina (pronounced tenukina) along with nine other North American species, only three of which can be found in Oregon.
“Found” might be an overstatement. Okay, obviously they can be found in Oregon – there’s a picture of one in Trail right on this page – but they fall into the “hen’s teeth” on the rarity scale.
There are just over 16K recorded sightings of yellows in the U.S., a mere 41 of those are here in Oregon.
That said, our little corner of Oregon has everything that yellows need and love, so we have as good or better a chance than anyone.
Yellow-collared can be found in meadows of riparian habitats along creeks or rivers, and boy, do we have lots of those!
Yellows need two things in life: flowers so the adults can fuel up on nectar and grasses or sedges for their larvae.
Adults will drink nectar from a wide variety of meadow-blooming posies, but their favorite flowers are goldenrods. Here in Oregon, we have five species of goldenrod for yellows to choose from.
Additionally, yellows like to sip “danger nectar” from flowers such as foxglove which contains toxic cardiac-glycosides poisons as well as hound’s tongue, ragwort and fiddlenecks which contain toxic pyrrolizidine alkaloids.
Being potentially chock full of those poisonous nectars -thus being a poisoned snack themselves – allows yellows to lead a relatively fearless day-flying life. Moreover, yellows are quite large as moths go – about three-quarters of an inch – and they are slow flyers as well. They definitely exude all the confidence of a critter most other critters do not want to try to make a meal of.
Recall, they are also wasp mimics. Looking quite similar to a tarantula wasp also tends to keep would-be predators at bay. Their waspish good looks may also factor into the low number of recorded sightings because their excellent mimicry may also keep humans who might otherwise get a closer look at a distance as well.
Fun fact: In addition to their POP of color collar and dusky wings, the bodies of many yellows have a metallic blue sheen. They truly are little fashionistas on the wing.
Their caterpillars lead a much more secretive life. Because they feed on grasses and sedges, they are not poisonous and can’t deter predators like the adults can. They have a different two-layered protection system.
First, they only come out of hiding and feed at night. Second, while the adult yellows’ coloration is all about being bold to signal “Danger! Do not eat!” the yellow pillars excel at blending in. They have subtle yellow, orange and black vertical stripes, perfect for blending into a clump of grasses. Over the stripes is a very fuzzy layer of long silvery white hairs giving the pillars an overall muted appearance.
Yellow-collared scape moths are on the wing from June through September so keep your eyes peeled as you stroll through our many streamside meadows this summer. If nothing else, searching for a yellow-collared is a great excuse to gaze at multiple fields of multi-colored wildflowers.