Adaina simplicius
| Adaina simplicius | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pterophoridae |
| Genus: | Adaina |
| Species: | A. simplicius |
| Binomial name | |
| Adaina simplicius (Grossbeck, 1917)[1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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Adaina simplicius is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It is found in the United States (including Mississippi[2] and Florida), Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay and Puerto Rico. It was introduced to South Africa for study as a biological control agent for Eupatorium macrocephalum.
The wingspan is about 10 mm. The head is pale yellowish, tinged with brownish especially on the vertex. The thorax is pale straw-yellow. The forewings are very pale straw-yellow, the costa with a few brown scales, a small patch of similarly colored scales on the costa beyond the incision and another near the center of the wing at the incision. A few more brown scales are found on the inner edge of both lobes near the apex. The hindwings are smoky.[3]
The larvae feed on various composites, including Carphephorus odoratissimus, Carphephorus paniculatus, Conoclinium coelestinum and Pluchea odorata.[4] Larvae induce the formation of stem galls on their host plant, feeding and pupating within the galls.[5]
References
- ↑ mothphotographersgroup
- ↑ Mississippi Plume Moths From The Bryant Mather Collection (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae)
- ↑ Insects of Florida
- ↑ Neotropical species of the family Pterophoridae, part II. Zool. Med. Leiden 85 (2011)
- ↑ Adaina primulacea Meyrick, 1929: A Gall-Inducing Plume Moth of Siam Weed from South Florida and The Neotropics (Lepidoptera: Pterophoridae)