The original figure of Atteva punctella from Plate 372 in Stoll (1781). The illustration is 25 mm wide in the work
The larvae feed only on new shoots of Simarouba amara. There are records for Ailanthus altissima in Argentina (Berg 1880), Castela erecta in Saint Croix, Antilles (Walsingham, 1914), Castela peninsularis, Castela polyandra and Castela emory in the United States (Powell et al. 1973), but these are doubtful records for which either the host or the moth species may be misidentified (Becker 2009).
The family Yponomeutidae are known as the ermine moths, with several hundred species, most of them in the tropics. The larvae tend to form communal webs, and some are minor pests in agriculture, forestry, and horticulture. Some of the adults are very attractive. Adult moths are minor pollinators.
The ailanthus webworm is an ermine moth now found commonly in the United States. It was formerly known under the scientific name Atteva punctella. This small, very colorful moth resembles a true bug or beetle when not in flight, but in flight it resembles a wasp.
The Simaroubaceae are a small, mostly tropical, family in the order Sapindales. In recent decades, it has been subject to much taxonomic debate, with several small families being split off. A molecular phylogeny of the family was published in 2007, greatly clarifying relationships within the family. Together with chemical characteristics such as the occurrence of petroselinic acid in Picrasma in contrast to other members of the family such as Ailanthus this indicates the existence of a subgroup in the family with Picrasma, Holacantha, and Castela.
Attevidae is a family of moths of the Yponomeutoidea superfamily, containing only one genus, Atteva. The group has a pantropical distribution; however, the range of at least one species, Atteva aurea, extends into the temperate zone. No consistent hypotheses regarding the relationships, placement, and ranking of Attevidae have been published, but the prevalent view is that they likely form a monophyletic group within the Yponomeutoidea.
Atteva hysginiella is a moth of the family Attevidae. It is endemic to the Galapagos Islands.
Atteva zebra is a moth of the family Attevidae. It is known only from Costa Rica and Panama.
Atteva gemmata is a moth of the family Attevidae. It was described by Augustus Radcliffe Grote in 1873 and is endemic to Cuba.
Atteva siderea is a moth of the family Attevidae. It is endemic to the Dominican Republic.
Atteva fulviguttata is a moth of the family Attevidae. It is endemic to Jamaica and Hispaniola.
Atteva flavivitta is a moth of the family Attevidae. It is only known from Isla Margarita in Venezuela.
Atteva cosmogona is a moth of the family Attevidae. It is found in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil.
Atteva rawlinsi is a moth of the Attevidae family. It is endemic to the Dominican Republic.
Atteva sidereoides is a moth of the Attevidae family. It is endemic to the Dominican Republic.
Atteva intermedia is a moth of the Attevidae family. It is endemic to Antigua.
Atteva zebrina is a moth of the Attevidae family. It is found in Brazil.
Atteva fabriciella, the Ailanthus webworm moth, is a moth of the family Attevidae. It is found in China, India and Sri Lanka. It is considered one of deadliest plant pest on Ailanthus species.
Atteva wallengreni is a moth of the Attevidae family. It is found in China, Indonesia (Bali), Malaysia (Perak), Thailand and Vietnam.
Atteva niveigutta is a moth of the Attevidae family. It is found in Bangladesh, India (Assam), Thailand and possibly China.
Atteva yanguifella is a moth of the Attevidae family. It is found in China (Xizang).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
