which is a serious weed problem on tropical waterways. The caterpillars grow to a length of about 2 cms. They pupate in their borehole in the shoot of their foodplant.

(Specimen: courtesy of The Australian Museum)

The adult moth has brown forewings with a variable complex light and dark pattern, usually with a white mark near the middle of each costa. The hindwings are yellow with a broad brown patterned margin and a dark spot in the middle. The females are darker and larger than the males. The wingspan is about 2 cms.

This species originally comes from South America. It was introduced deliberately into Australia in 1977, to help control the Water Hyacinths. It was introduced into other countries in Africa and Asia for the same reason.

The species can be found now in

and also in Australia in

Further reading :

Ian F.B. Common,
Moths of Australia,
Melbourne University Press, 1990, p. 72.

William Warren,
On the Pyralidina collected in 1874 and 1875 by Dr. J.W.H. Trail in the Basin of the Amazons,
Transactions of the Entomological Society of London,
1889, p. 289, No. 109.

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(updated 21 March 2008, 5 September 2019, 7 December 2020)