American chestnut moth
The American chestnut moth (Ectoedemia castaneae) was a species of moth in the family Nepticulidae. It was endemic to the United States, including Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
| American chestnut moth | |
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| Species: | E. castaneae |
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| Ectoedemia castaneae Busck, 1913 | |
Its wingspan was 7.5–8 mm.
The larvae formed galls encircling young twigs of American chestnut, resembling in shape and size egg-masses of the forest tent caterpillar. The moth's synergistic relationship with the North American nut species led to a catastrophic population decline when almost all of the American chestnut trees fell victim to chestnut blight. The American chestnut was driven almost to extinction, and the American chestnut moth was driven completely to extinction.
Sources
- Nepticulidae of North America
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Ectodemia castaneae". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 1996: e.T7028A12823728. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T7028A12823728.en. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
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