Euclasta gigantalis

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Euclasta gigantalis
Scientific classification
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E. gigantalis
Binomial name
Euclasta gigantalis
Viette, 1957 [1]
Synonyms
  • Euclasta whalleyiPopescu-Gorj & Constantinescu, 1973
Euclasta gigantalis ssp.whalleyii Euclasta gigantalis.jpg
Euclasta gigantalis ssp.whalleyii

Euclasta gigantalis is a species of moth in the family Crambidae. The female has a wingspan of 45mm. [2]

Contents

Distribution

It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, La Réunion and Madagascar. [3]

In 1988 this moth was also released in Australia for biological control of Cryptostegia grandiflora . [4]

Biology

The larvae feed on Camptocarpus mauritianus , Cryptostegia grandiflora , Cryptostegia madagascariensis (Apocynaceae) and Clerodendrum heterophyllum (Lamiaceae). [5]

Related Research Articles

Crambidae Family of moths

The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies include brightly coloured and patterned insects which rest in wing-spread attitudes.

Pyralidae Family of moths

The Pyralidae, commonly called pyralid moths, snout moths or grass moths, are a family of Lepidoptera in the ditrysian superfamily Pyraloidea. In many classifications, the grass moths (Crambidae) are included in the Pyralidae as a subfamily, making the combined group one of the largest families in the Lepidoptera. The latest review by Eugene G. Munroe and Maria Alma Solis, in Kristensen (1999) retains the Crambidae as a full family of Pyraloidea.

<i>Cryptostegia grandiflora</i> Species of plant

Cryptostegia grandiflora, commonly known as rubber vine, is a woody-perennial vine that is native to south-west Madagascar. It is also a significant weed in northern Australia, sometimes regarded as the worst weed in all of Australia. It has also been introduced to most other tropical and subtropical regions by man, because of its attractive flowers and the fact that its latex contains commercial quality rubber. It is now naturalised in the Caribbean, East Africa, Mauritius, India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Latin America, the southern United States, Fiji and New Caledonia. It is very similar to the purple rubber vine, which is also native to Madagascar.

Pyraloidea Superfamily of moths

The Pyraloidea are a moth superfamily containing about 16,000 described species worldwide, and probably at least as many more remain to be described. They are generally fairly small moths, and as such, they have been traditionally associated with the paraphyletic Microlepidoptera.

Indianmeal moth Species of moth

The Indianmeal moth, also spelled as Indian meal moth and Indian-meal moth, is a pyraloid moth of the family Pyralidae. Alternative common names are weevil moth, pantry moth, flour moth or grain moth. The almond moth and the raisin moth are commonly confused with the Indian-meal moth due to similar food sources and appearance. The species was named after being noted for feeding on Indian-meal or cornmeal and it does not occur natively in India as the aberrant usage of Indian meal moth would suggest. It is also not to be confused with the Mediterranean flour moth, another common pest of stored grains.

Mediterranean flour moth Species of moth

The Mediterranean flour moth or mill moth is a moth of the family Pyralidae. It is a common pest of cereal grains, especially flour. This moth is found throughout the world, especially in countries with temperate climates. It prefers warm temperatures for more rapid development, but it can survive a wide range of temperatures.

Spilomelinae Subfamily of moths

Spilomelinae is a very species-rich subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. With 4,132 described species in 340 genera worldwide, it is the most speciose group among pyraloids.

<i>Conocramboides</i> Genus of moths

Conocramboides is a monotypic moth genus of the family Crambidae described by Stanisław Błeszyński in 1970. Its only species, Conocramboides seychellellus, described by Thomas Bainbrigge Fletcher in 1910, is found in the Seychelles, Réunion and in Mauritius.

<i>Cryptostegia</i>

Cryptostegia is a genus of flowering plants native to tropical Africa and Madagascar. The genus is in the family Apocynaceae.

<i>Maliarpha separatella</i> Species of moth

Maliarpha separatella, the African white stemborer, is a species of moth of the family Pyralidae. A worldwide paddy pest, it is found throughout African countries of Cameroon, Mali, Réunion, Madagascar, South Africa, and many Asian paddy cultivating countries such as Myanmar, India, and Sri Lanka. Though they are reported from China and Papua New Guinea, they are also known to attack sugarcane.

<i>Tirathaba rufivena</i> Species of moth

Tirathaba rufivena, the coconut spike moth, greater coconut spike moth or oil palm bunch moth, is a moth of the family Pyralidae. It is found from south-east Asia to the Pacific islands, including Malaysia, the Cook Islands, the Philippines and the tropical region of Queensland, Australia. They are considered as a minor pest.

Euclasta varii is a species of moth in the family Crambidae. It is found in Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Yemen.

<i>Filodes costivitralis</i> Species of moth

Filodes costivitralis, the window pearl, is a moth of the family Crambidae. It is found in Réunion, Madagascar, Mauritania and central, southern and eastern Africa.

<i>Prophantis smaragdina</i> Species of moth

Prophantis smaragdina is a species of moth of the family Crambidae described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1875. It is found in subtropical Africa south of the Sahara.

Psara ferruginalis is a moth of the family Crambidae described by Max Saalmüller in 1880. It is found on Madagascar and Réunion.

Elophila difflualis is a moth of the family Crambidae. The species was first described by Pieter Cornelius Tobias Snellen in 1880. It is found in South-East Asia, in Australia and Réunion but has also be introduced to the United Kingdom.

<i>Nausinoe geometralis</i> Species of moth

Nausinoe geometralis is a species of moth of the family Crambidae described by Achille Guenée in 1854. It can be found in western, southern and eastern Africa, from Ghana to South Africa and some islands of the Indian Ocean as well as in Australasia, Australia and India.

<i>Ostrinia furnacalis</i> Species of moth

Ostrinia furnacalis is a species of moth in the family Crambidae, the grass moths. It was described by Achille Guenée in 1854 and is known by the common name Asian corn borer since this species is found in Asia and feeds mainly on corn crop. The moth is found from China to Australia, including in Java, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Borneo, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Micronesia. The Asian corn borer is part of the species complex, Ostrinia, in which members are difficult to distinguish based on appearance. Other Ostrinia such as O. orientalis, O. scapulalis, O. zealis, and O. zaguliaevi can occur with O. furnacalis, and the taxa can be hard to tell apart.

Eugene Gordon Munroe was a Canadian entomologist who discovered numerous species of insects. He worked for the Insect Systematics and Biological Control Unit, Entomology Division in Ottawa, Canada.

Trichaeini is a tribe of the species-rich subfamily Spilomelinae in the pyraloid moth family Crambidae. The tribe was erected by Richard Mally, James E. Hayden, Christoph Neinhuis, Bjarte H. Jordal and Matthias Nuss in 2019.

References

  1. Viette, P. 1957b. Un Eclasta nouveau d'Afrique orientale (Lep. Pyraustidae). - Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France 62:36–37
  2. Amsel, H. G. 1963. Kleinschmetterlinge aus Äthiopien. - Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde 121:1–12.
  3. afromoths
  4. R. E. McFadyen, J. J. Marohasy, 1990. A leaf feeding moth,Euclasta whalleyi (Lep.: Pyralidae) for the biological control of Cryptostegia grandiflora (Asclepiadaceae) in Queensland, Australia. Entomophaga 1990, Volume 35, Issue 3, pp 431-435 (abstract)
  5. Guillermet, 2009a. Les Hétérocères, ou papillons de nuit, de l'île de La Réunion. Volume 3. Familles des Pyralidae et Crambidae. - — :1–552, pls. 1–11.