Parapoynx diminutalis Snellen, 1880
 (one synonym : Oligostigma pallida Butler, 1886)
ACENTROPINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Bart Hacobian & Stella Crossley

Parapoynx diminutalis
(Photo: courtesy of Nick Monaghan, Noosa Heads, Queensland)

The caterpillars of this species is off-white with a pale brown head. It has stiff hairs along the body and two long hairs at the tail. The caterpillars have been found feeding on the leaves of aquatic plants in the genus:

  • Esthwaite Waterweed ( Hydrilla, HYDROCHARITACEAE )

    Parapoynx diminutalis
    (Photo: courtesy of Craig Nieminski, Darwin, Northern Territory)

    The wings of the adult have a striking pattern of brown and white. The moth has a wingspan of about 2 cms.

    The eggs are yellow and laid in masses on water plant leaves on the surface of the water.

    The species originally occured in south-east Asia, including

  • Hong Kong,
  • India,
  • Thailand,

    and also in Australia in

  • Western Australia,
  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales,

    but has since been found in:

  • South Africa,
  • U.K., and
  • U.S.A..

    The species has been suggested as a control agent in USA for Esthwaite Waterweed, which is pest in waterways there.

    Further reading :

    D.H. Habeck and J.K. Balciunas,
    Larvae of Nymphulinae (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) associated with Hydrilla verticillata (Hydrocharitaceae) in North Queensland,
    Australian Journal of Entomology,
    Volume 44, issue 4 (2005 November).

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 26.

    Pieter Cornelius Tobias Snellen,
    Nieuwe Pyraliden op Celebes gevonden,
    Tijdschrift voor Entomologie,
    Volume 23 (1880), pp. 242-243, No. 51.

    Paul Zborowski and Ted Edwards,
    A Guide to Australian Moths,
    CSIRO Publishing, 2007, p. 136.

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    (updated 24 May 2008, 6 June 2020)