Egg laying in Amata huebneri

EGG LAYING IN Amata huebneri TIGER MOTH
egg laying in Amata huebneri

Amata huebneri is a species of moth in the genus Amata of the family Erebidae (subfamily Arctiinae - "wooly bears" or "tiger moths"). It is found from the Indo Australian Tropics to northern Australia and India. Adults are black with orange-yellow bands across the abdomen, and transparent windows in the wings. Their larva is found to be a pest on rice plant (Oryza sativa).

EGG LAYING BEHAVIOUR Female moths carry the eggs inside their bodies and search for a place to lay them soon after mating. They may have more than 100 eggs at a time. Generally the female deposits the eggs in a location where the newly hatched larvae will have plenty of food, generally around plants or leaves. But in number of cases in our study we observed that they lay eggs on the walls within 1m area of their mating site itself. This may be because they find walls more comfortable site safe from predators, rigorous movement and other natural and climatic disturbances.

The adhesive that attaches the eggs to the substrate is colorless and waterproof. The eggs are small, spherical, white in color and soft shelled. In most of the cases observed about 100 to 300 eggs are laid at a time. There is no specific pattern observed in egg laying. Eggs are closely arranged without overlapping in most cases. In number of cases observed, the male leaves the female after mating. The female lays the eggs within 24 hours after mating. It stays near the eggs for some time and it dies within 2 to 3 days after egg laying.