Conogethes pluto (Butler, 1887)
 Alpinia Stem-borer
SPILOMELINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Dave Britton & Bart Hacobian
and
Stella Crossley


(Photo: courtesy of David Rentz, Kuranda, Queensland)

These Caterpillars are a tropical pest, boring into the stems of

  • Various Gingers ( Alpinia species, ZINGIBERACEAE ).

    The adult moths are pale brown with dark spots and zig-zag lines on the wings. The wingspan is about 3 cms.

    The Pheromones of this species have been elucidated.


    (Photo: copyright Dave Britton, caught in Bulli, New South Wales)

    The species occurs across south-east Asia, including :

  • New Guinea,
  • Thailand,
  • Solomons (Alu),

    as well as in Australia, where it seems to have a fairly wide habitat spread including wet lowland tropical rainforest and dry schlerophyll woodland.

    The species has been found in:

  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales, and
  • Victoria.

    Further reading :

    Arthur G. Butler,
    Description of New Species of Heterocerous Lepidoptera (Pyralites) from the Solomon Islands,
    The Annals and Magazine of Natural History,
    Series 5, Volume 20 (1887), p. 121, No. 12.

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    (updated 31 August 2010, 26 November 2020)