Species Diaphania indica - Cucumber Moth - Hodges#5207

5207

Diaphania indica (Saunders, 1851)

Eudioptes indica Saunders, 1851

Phakellura indica Walker, 1959

Glyphodes indica Hampson, 1896

Adult: WS≈20–25 mm (1)

Larva: 15 mm (1)

Adult: Wings are white, with a dark brown band along the fringe. (1)

Larva: pale to dark green with a white stripe running along both sides of the body. (1)

Southern Texas; Florida to Central America.

Caterpillars feed on the leaves, soft stems and fruit of a variety of cucurbits. They can destroy large sections of plants and bind parts of the leaves together with silk and frass. On occasion, the larvae have been known to damage the flowers. After the fruit starts to develop, the larvae can chew shallow holes in the surface, especially where the fruit is in close contact with the ground. They often pupate in these holes, causing blemishes which downgrade the fruit. (1)

Diaphania hyalinata has abdomen mostly white like D. indica but lacks entirely white last segment and black border of forewing is narrower.

Diaphania elegans has mostly brown abdominal with first segment white.

Diaphania modialis is like D. elegans but lacks the all white first abdominal segment.

Diaphania infimalis is like D. modialis but smaller with black border of forewing is narrower. Per Capps in Kimball (1965) (2), specimens of Diaphania modialis have been misidentified as this species which is not found in NA.

Saunders, W.W. 1851. On Insects injurious to the Cotton Plant. The Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. (new series) 1: 163