Crombrugghia wahlbergi (Zeller, 1851)
 (one synonym : Pterophorus rutilalis Walker, 1864)
Orange Plume Moth
PTEROPHORINAE,   PTEROPHORIDAE,   PTEROPHORIOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Debbie Matthews & Stella Crossley

The Caterpillar of this species is reported to have been found feeding on :

  • Ironweed ( Vernonia appendiculata, ASTERACEAE ),
  • Sweet Potato ( Ipomoea batatas, CONVOLVULACEAE ),
  • Creeping Woodsorrel ( Oxalis corniculata , OXALIDACEAE ), and
  • Geleiputao ( Vitis flexuosa, VITACEAE ).

    Crombrugghia wahlbergi
    Ascension Island, 1989

    The adult moth is orange-brown with divided wings. The wingspan is about 1.2 cms. The pheromones of this species have been identified.

    The species may have been found in:,

  • Botswana,
  • Burundi,
  • India,
  • Mauritius,
  • Réunion,
  • South Africa,

    as well as in

  • Australia.

    The species Stenodacma pyrrhodes was thought to be a synonym of Crombrugghia wahlbergi by Nielsen et al but is now treated as a separate species in Australian Faunal Directory.

    Further reading :

    H.S. Rose and H.S. Pooni,
    Taxonomic Studies on the superfamily Pterophoroidea (Lepidopter) for northwestern India,
    Zoos' Print Journal,
    Volume 20, Part 3 (March, 2005), pp. 1800-1801.

    Philipp C. Zeller,
    Revision der Pterophoriden,
    Linnaea Entomologica,
    Volume 6 (1851), pp. 346-348, No. 15.

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    (updated 31 January 2009, 8 March 2017)