Abantiades latipennis

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Abantiades latipennis
Abantiades latipennis.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hepialidae
Genus: Abantiades
Species:
A. latipennis
Binomial name
Abantiades latipennis
Tindale, 1932

Abantiades latipennis, known as the Pindi moth, is a species of moth in the family Hepialidae. It may also be referred to as a swift moth or a ghost moth, as this is a common name associated with Hepialidae. [1] Endemic to Australia and identified in 1932, it is most populous in temperate rainforest where eucalypti are prevalent, as the larvae feed primarily on the roots of these trees. Females lay eggs during flight in a scattering fashion. The larvae live for over eighteen months underground, while adult moths survive for approximately one week, as they have no mouthparts with which to feed. The moths are preyed upon by a number of predators, including bats and owls. Brown in colour overall, males are paler and the identifying silver bars of the male's wings are more prominent than those of the female's, with dark margins. Male adults are generally smaller.

Contents

Established clearfelling practices have been shown to favour the Pindi moth, and could lead to it being considered a pest due to opportunistic proliferation of the species. The resulting damage caused to the trees on which it feeds may be considered significant.

Taxonomy and naming

Abantiades latipennis is one of fourteen species currently identified within the genus Abantiades , all of which are found exclusively in Australia. The species was first described in 1932 by Norman Tindale, an Australian entomologist and anthropologist. Tindale described the species, under its current name, but provided no etymology for the specific epithet latipennis. He based the species description on specimens from Lorne (including the holotype male and allotype female), Pomonal and Mount Mistake (in the Langi Ghiran State Park), Victoria, and from Zeehan, Eaglehawk Neck and Launceston, Tasmania. [2] [3]

Being a member of the Hepialiade family, A. latipennis is considered phylogenetically primitive, possessing several features that are indicative of earlier evolutionary development. The jugum on the forewings of the adult is an archaic wing coupling mechanism; further primitive characteristics include, as adults, the lack of mouthparts, large spacing between the fore- and hindwings, and the arrangement of the female genitalia. [2] [3]

Distribution and habitat

A. latipennis is endemic to the Australasian region. More specifically, the moths inhabit New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, and Australian Capital Territory. As with other Abantiades species, the moth's habitat is temperate rainforest, both primary and secondary. During its larval stage, the moth feeds on the roots of trees, and its prospering is thought to have an economic impact on the timber industry. [2] [4]

Life cycle and behaviour

Female moths "lay" their eggs by scattering them during flight; up to 10,000 eggs are released at once. Larvae then hatch from the eggs in the leaf litter on the forest floor and begin tunnelling, in search of suitable host roots. The number of instars and the period of the larval stage is yet unknown, with field observations suggesting a larval stage of more than eighteen months. [5] [6]

An adult Abantiades latipennis, possibly a female, photographed in Austins Ferry, Tasmania Abantiades latipennis 2.jpg
An adult Abantiades latipennis, possibly a female, photographed in Austins Ferry, Tasmania

The phytophagous larvae of A. latipennis feed primarily on the root systems of two species of tree, Eucalyptus obliqua (messmate stringybark) and Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash). Both of these species are present in old growth forests and dominant in regrowth forests, contributing to the moth's success in its own habitat. Forming simple and vertical tunnels, lined with silk, the caterpillars are subterranean before and during pupation, emerging for their metamorphosis. The tunnel entrances, 6 to 10 millimetres in diameter, are covered with silk webbing and leaf litter, and can be up to 60 centimetres (2 ft) deep, although depth is more usually 12 to 35 cm. [6] [7] [8] [9]

By chewing the tap and lateral roots of trees, caterpillars feed on the cambium growth, produced by the tree at the site of the injury. The larvae may girdle a root, thereby causing its death, or the lesions may be only partial, allowing the root to continue functioning, albeit with some deformity. [6] [8] [9]

The subterranean habitat of the larvae generally provides protection from predation, but the larvae are sometimes parasitised by tachina flies. The parasitoid larvae of the tachinid Rutilotrixa diversa , usually hosted by scarab beetles, have been discovered infecting A. latipennis. [6] [10]

Adult A. latipennis are crepuscular and males are strongly attracted to lights, forming leks at dusk, most notably after rains in autumn and late summer. Females use pheromones to attract males for mating. As a primitive species, they lack mouthparts as adults and are therefore unable to feed. Their lifespan as winged creatures is understandably short, lasting approximately a week, barring predation. Predation is commonly by bats, owls, and possums, though several other animals, from spiders to cats, occasionally consume them and contribute to the brief lifespan of the metamorphosed moths. [11]

Ecology

As part of a study measuring the impact that the practice of clearfelling has on biodiversity in the Weld Valley of Tasmania, it was found that A. latipennis was one of the few species that thrived in regrowth forests that were previously clearfelled. An earlier study, conducted in other regions of southern Tasmania, examined the relationship between the moth and Eucalyptus regnans and E. obliqua and reached the same conclusion. The tunnelling and feeding habit of A. latipennis larvae on the roots of these two eucalypt species is mostly responsible for its abundance in clearfelled forests, as the trees are the typical regrowth of logged areas. This success may also be due in part to the caterpillar's lack of dependence on decaying vegetation, a characteristic of the genus Abantiades and dissimilar to other Tasmanian genera—such as Eudonia and Barea —that have not fared as well in clearfelled forest. [6] [7]

The crowns of the eucalypts infected by A. latipennis have exhibited no consistent indication of root disturbance, with most trees studied appearing healthy and of average size for secondary forest. E. regnans and E. obliqua have demonstrated slow growth in regrowth stands, but this tendency has been attributed to significant root and crown competition. Some trees appeared chlorotic (a yellowing effect in plants, caused by a reduction in chlorophyll), but this was not a reliable indicator of root infestation, and may be the result of other influences. Well-established clearfelling practices in Tasmania could exacerbate the favouring of this species, and its proliferation could lead to extensive eucalypt damage and pest concerns, though the potential effect of this threat is as yet undetermined. [6] [7]

Lesions on the roots caused by the larval feeding provide ideal sites for the establishment of root rot-causing fungi, once the larvae depart the root system for pupation. Areas on the roots with past feeding damage were found to have Armillaria sp. flourishing in the lesions. In rarer cases, the pathogen Perenniporia medulla-panis was also found attacking the roots at the damaged locations. Other cases of decay and discolouration were noted, but attributed to unidentified microorganisms. [6]

Morphology and identification

A. latipennis larvae vary in size and colour during growth, but can be grouped small and large. The small caterpillars are generally 12 millimetres (0.47 inches) long and an overall milky grey, with a light brown head capsule that is about 3 mm (0.12 in) wide. Large caterpillars may be milky grey or a dark green-brown, 60 to 90 mm (2.4 to 3.5 in) long, with a 6 to 9 mm (0.24 to 0.35 in) wide brown head capsule. [6]

Females are larger than males, with the wingspan of the male adult approximately 80 mm (3.1 in). A female specimen collected in 1979 had a wingspan of 108 mm (4.3 in), but Tindale recorded female wingspans at 150 mm (5.9 in) in 1932. The forewings of both males and females feature silvery-white bars, although the bars of the male moth's wings are more prominent and with dark margins. The female's body colour is usually a darker brown than the male's pale brown, as noted by Tindale, although a grey-brown female was collected in 1979. [5] [6] [12]

Hepialidae have short, pectinate antennae and, unusually primitive for Lepidoptera, lack a functional proboscis or retinaculum and are therefore non-feeding. The moths possess several other morphological features that are considered phylogenetically primitive. The gap between the fore- and hindwing is distinct and the wings are covered in scale-like hairs. At the base of the forewing is a jugum, a small lobe that joins the fore- and hindwings during flight. In females, the configuration of the genitalia is exoporian, typified by an external groove along which spermatophores are transferred after mating, from the copulatory opening (the ostium bursae), to the ovipore for fertilisation. [2] [3] [8] [13]

Related Research Articles

<i>Eucalyptus regnans</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus regnans, known variously as mountain ash, swamp gum, or stringy gum, is a species of medium-sized to very tall forest tree that is native to the Australia states of Tasmania and Victoria. It is a straight-trunked tree with smooth grey bark, but with a stocking of rough brown bark at the base, glossy green, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of between nine and fifteen, white flowers, and cup-shaped or conical fruit. It is the tallest of all flowering plants; the tallest measured living specimen, named Centurion, stands 100 metres tall in Tasmania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hepialidae</span> Family of moths

The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghost moth</span> Species of moth

The ghost moth or ghost swift is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is common throughout Europe, except for the far south-east.

<i>Abantiades</i> Genus of moths in family Hepialidae

Abantiades is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. There are 37 described species, all found exclusively in Australia. The group includes some large species with a wingspan of up to 160 mm. The larvae feed on the roots of Eucalyptus and other trees. Simonsen's 2018 revision of the Australian Hepialidae synonymized the genera Bordaia and Trictena to Abantiades, and included the former genera's species here.

<i>Aenetus</i> Genus of moths

Aenetus is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae. There are 24 described species found in Indonesia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, Australia and New Zealand. Most species have green or blue forewings and reddish hindwings, but some are predominantly brown or white. The larvae feed in the trunks of living trees, burrowing horizontally into the trunk, then vertically down.

<i>Phymatopus</i> Genus of moths

Phymatopus is a genus of moths of the family Hepialidae, which consists of around 700 species and 82 genera. The genus was erected by Hans Daniel Johan Wallengren in 1869. They can be found across Eurasia and North America. Species can be distinguished by the different morphology of male genitalia and different forewing patterns, which vary in stripe colour and size and arrangement of spots. The stripes themselves consist of spots separated by dark veins which are fringed by thin black lines from both inner and outer sides.

<i>Eucalyptus obliqua</i> Species of plant

Eucalyptus obliqua, commonly known as messmate stringybark or messmate, but also known as brown top, brown top stringbark, stringybark or Tasmanian oak, is a species of tree that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy or fibrous bark on the trunk and larger branches, smooth greyish bark on the thinnest branches, lance-shaped to curved adult leaves, flower buds in groups of seven to fifteen or more, white flowers and cup-shaped or barrel-shaped fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pūriri moth</span> Species of moth

The pūriri moth, also commonly called the ghost moth or pepetuna, is a species of moth of the family Hepialidae. This moth is endemic to the North Island of New Zealand. It is New Zealand's largest moth, with a wingspan of up to 150 mm. It spends the first five to six years of its life as a grub in a tree trunk, with the last 48 hours of its life as a moth. Footage has been taken of a pūriri moth chrysalis hatching over a period of one hour and forty minutes.

<i>Eriogaster lanestris</i> Species of moth

Eriogaster lanestris, commonly known as the small eggar, is a moth of the family Lasiocampidae that is found across the Palearctic. Unlike many other members of the Lasiocampidae, the small eggar is a social insect. Historically, only eusocial insects like ants, bees, and termites were thought to exhibit complex social organization and communication systems. However, research since the late 20th century has found that E. lanestris, among a number of other phylogenetically related moth and butterfly species, demonstrates social behaviors as well. Larvae spend nearly their entire development in colonies of about 200 individuals, and this grouped social structure offers a number of benefits, from thermoregulation to increased foraging success.

<i>Protographium leosthenes</i> Species of butterfly

Protographium leosthenes, the four-barred swordtail, is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Papilionidae found in Australia. It is similar to the five-barred swordtail found in both Australia and India.

<i>Abantiades atripalpis</i> Species of moth

Abantiades atripalpis, also known as bardee grub, rain moth or waikerie, and previously known as Trictena atripalpis, is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is found in the whole southern half of Australia.

<i>Heliomystis</i> Genus of moths

Heliomystis is a monotypic moth genus in the family Geometridae. Its only species, Heliomystis electrica, the electric moth, is found in the southern half of Australia. Both the genus and species were first described by Edward Meyrick in 1888.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conifer swift</span> Species of moth

The conifer swift moth is a swift moth considered a forest pest in eastern and central North America, from Canada south to North Carolina. Larvae feed primarily on roots of evergreen trees, and are weakly polyphagous, able to survive on deciduous trees but preferring balsam fir and red spruce. They penetrate bark, but lesions on roots are shallow. These wounds may, however, provide easy entry for pathogenic fungi and nematodes. K. gracilis has been shown to reduce survival on saplings, but adult trees have been found with more than 30 feeding scars on their roots. But trees that are weakened by air pollution or changes in soil chemistry may invite K. gracilis infestation. Adults can be found in woody areas between June and August. They are cryptically colored, but are active for 20–40 minutes each dawn and twilight, and occasionally come to light. In the conifer swift moth, courtship, mating, and egg laying occur during evening hours; only oviposition occurs in the morning. They are Exoporia, and females scatter eggs while in flight. It takes two years for the larvae to mature, so populations tend towards two-year cycles. Females emit pheromones to attract males, from organs on their hind wings.

<i>Stictea macropetana</i> Species of moth

Stictea macropetana, the eucalyptus leafroller, is a moth of the family Tortricidae. It is native to Australia, but is an introduced species in New Zealand, where it was first recorded in 1921. It was first described by Edward Meyrick in 1881.

Abantiades albofasciatus is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is endemic to Western Australia.

<i>Abantiades labyrinthicus</i> Species of moth

Abantiades labyrinthicus is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is endemic to Australia, where it is found in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria.

Aenetus ombraloma is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is known from Tasmania.

Abantiades argyrosticha is a species of moth of the family Hepialidae. It was described by Turner in 1929, and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland.

Abantiades barnardi is a species of moth of the family Hepialidae. It was described by Norman Tindale in 1941, and is endemic to Western Australia.

<i>Wiseana umbraculata</i> Species of moth

Wiseana umbraculata, also known as the bog porina, is a species of moth belonging to the family Hepialidae. There are seven endemic species and three haplotypes of Wiseana in New Zealand including bog porina. It was regarded as being common in Whanganui in the early twentieth century.

References

  1. ↑ Capinera, John L. (2008). Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer. p. 1613. ISBN   978-1-4020-6242-1.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Tindale, N. B. (1932). "Revision of the Australian ghost moths (Lepidoptera Homoneura, family Hepialidae). Part 1". Records of the South Australian Museum. 4: 497–536.
  3. 1 2 3 Nielsen, Ebbe S.; Robinson, G. S.; Wagner, D. L. (6 June 2000). "Ghost-moths of the world: a global inventory and bibliography of the Exoporia (Mnesarchaeoidea and Hepialoidea) (Lepidoptera)". Journal of Natural History . 34 (6): 823–878. doi:10.1080/002229300299282. S2CID   86004391.
  4. ↑ "Species Abantiades latipennis Tindale, 1932". Australian Biological Resources Study—Australian Faunal Directory . Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. 9 October 2008. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
  5. 1 2 Herbison-Evans, Don; Crossley, Stella; Marriott, Peter (11 February 2009). "Abantiades latipennis Tindale, 1932". Hepialidae. University of Technology, Sydney. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Kile, G. A.; Hardy, R. J.; Turnbull, C. R. A. (April 1979). "The association between Abantiades latipennis (Lepidoptera, family Hepialidae) and Eucalyptus obliqua and Eucalyptus regnans in Tasmania". Australian Journal of Entomology . 18 (1): 7–17. doi:10.1111/j.1440-6055.1979.tb00801.x . Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  7. 1 2 3 Green, Graham; Gray, Alan; McQuillan, Peter (March 2004). "Biodiversity impacts and sustainability implications of clearfell logging in the Weld Valley, Tasmania" (PDF). Timber Workers for Forests. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  8. 1 2 3 Common, Ian Francis Bell (1990). Moths of Australia. Brill. pp. 27–28, 149–150. ISBN   978-90-04-09227-3.
  9. 1 2 Grehan, J. R. (1989). "Larval feeding habits of the Hepialidae (Lepidoptera)". Journal of Natural History . 23 (4): 803–824. doi:10.1080/00222938900770421.
  10. ↑ Cantrell, Bryan K. (1986). "An updated host catalogue for the Australian Tachinidae (Diptera)". Journal of the Australian Entomological Society. 25 (3): 255–265. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-6055.1986.tb01112.x .
  11. ↑ Dugdale, J. S. (1 March 1994). "Hepialidae (Insecta: Lepidoptera); Popular Summary". Fauna of New Zealand. Landcare Research, University of Auckland (30). ISSN   0111-5383. Archived from the original on 16 May 2010. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  12. ↑ "Abantiades latipennis". Australia Moths Online. CSIRO Australia. 2007. Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2010-08-05.
  13. ↑ Kristensen, Niels P. (1999). Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies. Handbook of Zoology. Vol. IV. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 61–62. ISBN   978-3-11-015704-8.

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