Life history, first host plant record and distribution of the Neotropical tiger moth Cosmosoma thoracicum Schaus 1905 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae: Euchromiina) in Peru

Abstract We describe for the first time the complete life cycle of the Neotropical tiger moth Cosmosoma thoracicum Schaus 1905, based on three individuals, one male and two females, reared at the Finca Las Piedras field station (Madre de Dios, Peru), as well as the first record of this species’ host plant. Three eggs collected in their natural habitat went through seven larval stages (male) and five and seven larval stages (females). All individuals fed on Lasiacis ligulata Hitchcock & Chase, 1917 (Poaceae: Panicoideae: Panaceae), which is the first Poaceae recorded as a host plant for the genus Cosmosoma Hübner, [1823]. We also propose Poecilosoma mapirense Strand, 1915 as a new synonym for C. thoracicum and document both the species’ previously undescribed female genitalia and geographical distribution in Peru. Finally, we provide genetic sequence information for the DNA barcode region (COI) derived from two individuals of C. thoracicum .