DRAFT
| Tree
moth |
Namibian
crop pests # 79
|
Uresiphita gilvata
Yellow Under Pearl |
Order: Lepidoptera |
Family: Crambidae |
Uresiphita gilvata Fabricius, 1781 (Pyralidae)
Identified by Ole Karsholt, ZMUC, Dk
Cluster of eggs
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Hatching an hour later
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Caterpillar, 35 mm
|
|
Imago, 33 mm
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"Embrossed" image to enhance details
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Common names:
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No local names were recorded |
Pest status:
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The pest status is unknown. The caterpillars eat leaves of an ornamental
excotic garden tree and spins the leaves together in a web. (I tentatively
identified the tree as a Bolusanthus species although it is not
naturally found in Namibia. This seems, however, quite likely as Pinhey's
Moths of Southern Africa, 1975 mentions Bolusanthus as a foodplant) |
Description:
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Eggs are dark brown and placed in a flat cluster of white gel.
The caterpillar is 35 mm long, slender and green with black and white
dots. It has long white hairs. The head is black.
The adult moth has a wingspan of 33 mm. It has pale brown front wings
with a few darker lines and markings. The hindwings are yellow with a black
band along the edge.
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Control:
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Control is not recommended until the pest status is established. |
Other notes:
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This caterpillar moth was found in large numbers on a garden tree in
Oshakati, Oshana region, in late January 2000. Photos were taken of eggs
and caterpillar and approximately 10 caterpillars were placed with leaves
in a bucket with sand. Most of them hatched a week later, on 4 February
2000. Due to travel activities only 3 imagos were pinned.
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