| Pink Scavenger (also known as Anatrachyntis rileyi) COSMOPTERIGINAE, COSMOPTERIGIDAE, GELECHIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Photo: courtesy of M.J.W. Cock & D.H. Burris, from
Neotropical palm-inflorescence feeding moths (Lepidoptera: Batrachedridae, Blastobasidae, Cosmopterigidae, Gelechiidae, Pyralidae, Tineidae): a review of the literature and new records from Trinidad, West Indies)
The Caterpillars of this species are pink, with a pale brown head, a dark brown collar, and a black mouth. They scavenge on the damaged flowers and fruit of a variety of agricultural crops, including:
The carepillars grow to a length of about 1 cm.
The adult moths have brown forewings with black-edged pale streaks, and plain grey hindwings, each edged with a fringe. The moths have a wingspan of about 1 cm.
The species occurs in many parts of the world, including
as well as in northern Australia including
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 254.
Thomas de Grey, 6th Baron Walsingham,
Notes on Tineidae of North America,
Transactions of the American Entomological Society,
Volume 10 (1882), pp. 198-199, Nos. 1229, 1230.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 21 August 2012, 6 February 2019, 8 November 2020, 11 February 2022)