Trissodoris honorariella

Last updated

Pandanus leaf perforator
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
T. honorariella
Binomial name
Trissodoris honorariella
(Walsingham, 1907)
Synonyms [1]
  • Stagmatophora honorariellaWalsingham, 1907
  • Stagmatophora quadrifasciataWalsingham, 1907
  • Trissodoris honorielle( lapsus )
  • Trissodoris quadrifasciata(Walsingham, 1907)

Trissodoris honorariella, the pandanus leaf perforator or pandanus hole-cutter moth, is a small cosmet moth species (family Cosmopterigidae). It belongs to subfamily Cosmopteriginae and is the type species of the genus Trissodoris . Baron Thomas Walsingham in 1907 had specimens from both ends of the species' range New Guinea and Pitcairn Island which he described as separate species Stagmatophora honorariella and S. quadrifasciata in the same work. But his mistake was soon recognized, and when Edward Meyrick established the genus Trissodoris in 1914, he chose the former name to be valid. [1]

Contents

The habits of this moth have enabled it to be distributed far and wide by the native peoples of the Pacific. These people use the leaves of the moth's food plant Pandanus for the making of mats, baskets, and other items which for generations have accompanied voyaging islanders, and the moth has thus been widely dispersed by man.

Like many related cosmet moths, this species has a short scape which bears a comb of hairs. They can be distinguished except from closely related species by their wing venation: in the forewings, vein 1b is not forked and veins 2–4 are separate, while veins 6–8 are not; the 6th and 7th veins branch off from the stalk of the 8th, while in some related genera the 7th and 8th share a single stalk. [1]

Distribution and ecology

This moth is found all over the Pacific region. Its north- to southwestern limits are Japan, the Caroline Islands of Micronesia, New Guinea and eastern Australia; the reports from the Malay Archipelago (Buru in Indonesia and Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo) and particularly Sri Lanka probably represent more recent introductions or accidental records. But most of its range encompasses Polynesia and adjacent Melanesia, where it is found on the New Hebrides, Fiji, the Samoan Islands, Tahiti and perhaps other Society Islands, Pitcairn Island, Rapa Iti, and the Hawaiian Islands (where it is found on Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Maui, Lanaʻi and the Big Island [ citation needed ]). It is found mostly in the lowlands, where its food plants grow best. [1]

The caterpillar larvae feed on Pandanus species, [1] including Pandanus tectorius . They are very long and slender and reach a length of about 15 mm. The larvae mine the dead leaves of their host plant. When they reach maturity, they cut through both upper and lower leaf surfaces. Then they fasten the cut-out sections of leaf together to form their large pupal cases. The cases are usually pulled into the surrounding mined-out interior of the leaf, and this results in clean-cut, ovate holes being made which pass completely through the leaves.

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Clarke (1986)

Related Research Articles

<i>Pandanus</i> Genus of palm-like monocot trees and shrubs

Pandanus is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names include pandan, screw palm, and screw pine. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.

Marasmianympha is a genus of moths of the grass moth family (Crambidae) described by Eugene G. Munroe in 1991. Its single species, Marasmianympha eupselias, was described by Edward Meyrick in 1929. Among the grass moths, it belongs to subfamily Spilomelinae. It is endemic to the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia, where it has been recorded on Fatu Hiva, Hiva Oa and Tahuata, but is suspected to occur on other islands as well. The holotype specimen is in the Natural History Museum, London.

Clarkeophlebia is an enigmatic and almost-unknown gelechioid moth genus. It contains a single species, Clarkeophlebia argentea, and is apparently endemic to Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia. It was originally described as Acanthophlebia, but this name had earlier been given to a genus of prong-gilled mayflies.

Asymphorodes is a gelechioid moth genus in subfamily Agonoxeninae of the palm moth family (Agonoxenidae), whose taxonomic status is disputed. Alternatively, the palm moths might be a subfamily of the grass-miner moth family (Elachistidae), with the Agonoxeninae becoming a tribe Agonoxenini.

Herlinda is a genus of cosmet moths. These moths were only discovered in 1968 and the genus was not described until 1986; its affiliations within the family are presently unknown. This genus, as far as is known, is endemic to the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia, with each species confined to a single island.

Iressa is a genus of cosmet moths. It belongs to subfamily Cosmopteriginae.

Trissodoris is a genus of moth in the family Cosmopterigidae.

<i>Eriocrania cicatricella</i> Moth species in family Eriocraniidae

Eriocrania cicatricella is a moth of the family Eriocraniidae found in Europe. It was first described by Johan Wilhelm Zetterstedt in 1839. The larvae mine the leaves of birch.

Anatrachyntis incertulella, the pandanus flower moth, is a small cosmet moth species. It belongs to subfamily Cosmopteriginae. This was the first "micromoth" species to be described from Hawaiʻi. The type specimens were collected there by the 1820s Beechey expedition and described by the English entomologist Francis Walker in 1864; they are now in the British Museum of Natural History.

Asymphorodes dimorpha is a species of gelechioid moth of subfamily Agonoxeninae of the palm moth family (Agonoxenidae), whose taxonomic status is disputed. Alternatively, the palm moths might be a subfamily of the grass-miner moth family (Elachistidae), with the Agonoxeninae becoming a tribe Agonoxenini.

Erechthias flavistriata, the sugarcane bud moth, is a moth of the family Tineidae. It was described by Lord Walsingham in 1907 from Hawaii, but is probably an introduced species. It is found in large parts of the Pacific Rim including the Marquesas, Rapa Iti, Fiji, the New Hebrides, the Kermadec Islands, the Solomons, Java and Malaya. It has been spread widely by man and probably has travelled to many islands throughout much of the Pacific in the canoes of the native peoples.

<i>Erechthias minuscula</i> Species of moth

Erechthias minuscula, the erechthias clothes moth, is a moth of the family Tineidae. It was first described by Lord Walsingham in 1897. It is widespread and has been recorded from Africa, Sri Lanka, Java, Australia, the Caroline Islands, Fiji, Samoa, the Marquesas, the West Indies, Hawaii and Florida.

<i>Erechthias simulans</i> Species of moth

Erechthias simulans is a species of fungus moth. It is here considered to belong to the somewhat controversial type genus of its subfamily Erechthiinae, though even fairly recently some authors have proposed to retain other genera such as Decadarchis separate from Erechthias. Decadarchis, with E. simulans as type species, would in fact contain this moth and its closest relatives, regardless whether it is recognized as full genus or as subgenus. These relatives are generally held to be a group of mainly Polynesian species. E. simulans has also been mistaken for a species of the closely related genus Comodica; while the delimitation of this versus Erechthias/Decadarchis is not universally agreed upon, E. simulans is not included in Comodica anymore by modern authors.

<i>Stoeberhinus testaceus</i> Species of moth

Stoeberhinus testaceus, the potato moth, is a gelechioid moth, supposedly the only species of its genus Stoeberhinus. However, the genus might also include some related moths presently placed in Autosticha. It belongs to the subfamily Autostichinae, which is either placed in the concealer moth family (Oecophoridae), or in an expanded Autostichidae.

Philodoria basalis is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It was first described by Lord Walsingham in 1907. It is endemic to the Hawaiian islands of Maui and Hawaii.

<i>Philodoria splendida</i> Species of moth

Philodoria splendida is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It was first described by Lord Walsingham in 1907. It is endemic to the Hawaiian islands of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai and Hawaii.

Philodoria nigrella is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It was first described by Lord Walsingham in 1907. It is endemic to the island of Hawaii.

Philodoria pipturiella is a moth of the family Gracillariidae. It was first described by Otto Herman Swezey in 1923. It is endemic to the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

Bucculatrix thurberiella, the cotton leaf perforator, is a species of moth of the family Bucculatricidae. It was first described by August Busck in 1914. It is native to the south-western United States and northern Mexico. It is an introduced species in Hawaii.

Ernophthora is a genus of small moths belonging to the snout moth family (Pyralidae). They form part of the Cabniini, a rather small tribe of the huge snout moth subfamily Phycitinae. This genus is generally found in the Australia-Pacific region.

References