Exelastis pumilio
Species of plume moth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Exelastis pumilio is a moth of the family Pterophoridae. It has worldwide tropical distribution, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Japan, Micronesia, South Africa the Virgin Islands as well as Queensland and New Guinea.[2][3]
| Exelastis pumilio | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pterophoridae |
| Genus: | Exelastis |
| Species: | E. pumilio |
| Binomial name | |
| Exelastis pumilio (Zeller, 1873) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is 12–15 mm. Adults are on wing in March, April and June.
Foodplants
Larvae have been recorded feeding on Desmodium incanum, Alysicarpus vaginalis and Oxalis sp.[4] In India it was recorded feeding on Boerhaavia repens from India and Sri Lanka (Fletcher 1909, 1921) and Boerhaavia diffusa from Hawaii (Zimmerman 1958). In Guam some specimens were obtained from Boerhaavia sp.[5]
Taxonomy
The genus Hepalastis is often treated as a synonym of Exelastis.
