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Species Terastia meticulosalis - Erythrina borer - Hodges#5239

Caterpillar on coral bean - Terastia meticulosalis Terastia meticulosalis Mystery Moth - Terastia meticulosalis Terastia meticulosalis? - Terastia meticulosalis leaf roller moth  - Terastia meticulosalis Terastia meticulosalis – Erythrina Borer Moth - Terastia meticulosalis Weird Moth - Terastia meticulosalis Terastia meticulosalis
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Pyraloidea (Pyralid and Crambid Snout Moths)
Family Crambidae (Crambid Snout Moths)
Subfamily Spilomelinae
Genus Terastia
Species meticulosalis (Erythrina borer - Hodges#5239)
Hodges Number
5239
Other Common Names
Erythrina Twig-Borer
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Terastia meticulosalis Guenée, 1854
Megastes coeligenalis Hulst, 1886
Numbers
The only species in the genus found in America north of Mexico.
Size
Forewing length 16.5-23 mm. (1)
Range
Tropical species that ranges north to the US from Florida to California.
Season
Most records are July to September.
Adults fly year round in Florida.
Arizona first flight starts in June. (1)
Food
Larvae consume the pods of native species and commercially grown Erythrina (Fabaceae). (1), (2)
Life Cycle
See complete life history by Sourakov, 2011. (2)
See Also
Agathodes designalis
Print References
Boisduval, J.A. & A. Guenée 1854. Histoire Naturelle des Insectes Spécies Général des Lépidoptères 8: 212.
Hulst, G.D. 1886 Descriptions of Pyralidae. Transactions of the American Entomological Society and Proceedings of the Entomological Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences 13: 156.
Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. p. 179; pl. 23, fig. 31. (1)
Sourakov, A. 2011. Niche partitioning, co-evolution and life histories of Erythrina moths, Terastia meticulosalis and Agathodes designalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). Trop. Lepid. Res. 21(2): 84-94 (PDF) (2)