About Asota speciosa Drury, 1773
Asota speciosa, commonly called the specious tiger, was previously known under the scientific name Aganais speciosa. It is a moth species that belongs to the subfamily Aganainae, which is currently classified as a part of the family Erebidae. In the past, this species has been assigned to several different families by different authorities: it was placed in Arctiidae, then Hypsidae, and later in Aganaidae, a grouping that some authors once recognized as a full separate family. This moth species is widely distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, with recorded occurrences in Sierra Leone, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mozambique, and South Africa. The larvae of Asota speciosa feed on specific latex-rich plants. Their most common hosts are Ficus species (fig trees), including both native and domesticated fig varieties. They also feed on the poisonous plant genus Acokanthera. To disable their host plants' latex-based defensive system, the larvae bite partway through the leaf's midrib. This severs the plant's latex vessels, after which the larvae feed on the section of the leaf blade that sits on the distal side of this damage. This section of leaf no longer receives latex from the plant.
