Melitara doddalis

Melitara doddalis
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pyralidae
Genus:	Melitara
Species:	M. doddalis
Binomial name
Melitara doddalis Dyar, 1925 [1]
Synonyms
Zophodia doddalis

Melitara doddalis is a species of snout moth in the genus Melitara . It was described by Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. in 1925, and is found in the United States in southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, south-western Texas and in northern Mexico.

Adults are on wing from September to early October.

Pupation occurs on the ground during August and September. ^[2]

Food sources

The larvae feed on Opuntia ficus-indica , Opuntia macrorhiza var. macrorhiza and Opuntia phaeacantha var. phaeacantha. They tunnel downward into the basal segments of the host plant. ^[2] In 2020 a study found that M. doddalis is unselective as to which Opuntiae it chooses to feed upon. ^[3]

Taxonomy

The species was previously considered a synonym of Melitara dentata .

References

1. Moth Photographers Group at Mississippi State University
2. Cactus Feeding Moths
3. Morrison, Colin R.; Plowes, Robert M.; Jones, Nathan T.; Gilbert, Lawrence E. (2020-10-24). "Host quality does not matter to native or invasive cactus moth larvae: grave implications for North American prickly pears". Ecological Entomology . Royal Entomological Society (Wiley): 1–15. doi:10.1111/een.12964. ISSN   0307-6946. S2CID   226339523.