Family Plutellidae - Diamondback Moths

Classification · Numbers · Identification · Food · Life Cycle · Works Cited

Diamondback moth pupa? - Plutella xylostella

Small larvae on London Rocket plants - Plutella xylostella

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 Yponomeutoidea (Ermine Moths and kin)

Family Plutellidae (Diamondback Moths)

Numbers

about 22 species in North America (1)

Identification

Adults - smaller and relatively slender when compared to Ypsolopha (1)

Food

most Plutella feed on Brassicaceae, one of the few moth lineages adapted to do so. Other genera are specialists on unrelated angiosperms, including Berberidaceae, Ericaceae, and Caprifoliaceae (1)

Life Cycle

pupation in a loose-meshed, less compact cocoon than Ypsolopha (1)

Works Cited

1.	Moths of Western North America Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 20 August, 2005 - 11:52pm
Additional contributions by Randy Hardy, Kyhl Austin
Last updated 16 March, 2016 - 3:47pm

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