| Andean Potato Tuber Moth (formerly known as Trichotaphe tangolias) GELECHIINAE, GELECHIIDAE, GELECHIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Frans Griepink & Stella Crossley |
(Photo: copyright of Frans Griepink)
|
| Andean Potato Tuber Moth (formerly known as Trichotaphe tangolias) GELECHIINAE, GELECHIIDAE, GELECHIOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Frans Griepink & Stella Crossley |
(Photo: copyright of Frans Griepink)
This Caterpillar is fawn with stripes and a darker head. It lives and feeds inside the stem of its food plant. The caterpillar was introduced into Australia by unfortunate accident. It is an international pest on various crops in SOLANACEAE, including:
The caterpillar also attacks the tubers as well as the stems and leaves of the plant. It grows to a length of about 1 cm.
It pupates amongst the debris of the attacked plant.
The adult moth has fawn forewings, each with a large dark mark on the costa attached to a ragged dark central streak. The hindwings are fawn, each with a dark line along the costa, and a dark streak along the middle. The moth has a wingspan of about 2 cms.
The species has been found all over the Americas including
and has invaded other places in the world including
and also Australia in:
The pheromones of this species have been identified. The species may be controlled using an Attract and Kill techniques.
The eggs are white, minutely dimpled, and nearly spherical. They are laid in a slit in the stem of a foodplant.
Further reading :
Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 25.14, p. 260.
W.J.A. Klunder van Gyen,
Descriptions of Chili Microlepidoptera,
Boletín del Museo Nacional de Chile,
Volume 5 (1913), pp. 338-339.
 caterpillar |  butterflies |  Lepidoptera |  moths |  caterpillar |
(updated 6 May 2011, 3 September 2024)