Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata

Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Erebidae
Subfamily: Arctiinae
Genus: Pareuchaetes
Species: P. pseudoinsulata
Binomial name
Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata
Rego Barros, 1956

Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It was described by Rego Barros in 1956. It is found in Venezuela and Trinidad. It is an introduced species in Sri Lanka, as well as on Sabah, Borneo, Palawan and Guam.[1]

Description

The wings and thorax are uniform pale yellow, the abdomen deep yellow with a dorsal row of black spots.[2] Antennae of male bipectinated. Mid tibia clothed with very long hair. Fore wings with both antemedial and postmedial tufts on inner margin.[3]

The larvae feed on the leaves of Chromolaena odorata. Defoliation causes most shoots of host plant to dry up. Continuous defoliation of new sprouts from basal clumps will result in total death of the bushes.[4] The ground colour of the larvae is blackish, with interrupted narrow white stripes.

Since C. odorata is an invasive species, P pseudoinsulata has been used as a form of biological control.

References

  1. ↑ Pareuchaetes at funet
  2. ↑ The Moths of Borneo
  3. ↑ Hampson G. F. (1892). "The Fauna Of British India Including Ceylon And Burma Moths Vol-ii". Digital Library of India. p. 558. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
  4. ↑ Rearing, release and monitoring of Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata Archived 2011-04-09 at the Wayback Machine.


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