treculeanella

T. treculeanella Pellmyr

Adult Characteristics

Wing expanse 19.5-29.5 mm. Forewing white, hindwing brownish gray. Male genitalia with aedeagus 1.65-1.8 mm long, 0.04 mm in cross section; female genitalia with posterior apophyses 5.7-5.8 mm long, large corpus bursae with signa 0.65-0.80 mm in diameter.

Comparison with similar species

Similar in forewing coloration to other members of the yuccasella complex, but readily distinguished from other members of the complex based on genitalic characters. A diagnostic key is provided.

Hosts, oviposition, and larval feeding habits

The species is known from the fleshy-fruited yucca Y. treculeana, including Y. torreyi Females oviposit into flowers (Pellmyr 1999). Eggs are laid inside the ovary, between the wall and the ovules, generally in the upper portion.The larva feeds on developing seeds. Pupation occurs in a cocoon in the soil.

Geographic distribution

The known range includes parts of Texas, New Mexico, and Coahuila.

Habitat

Characteristic habitat is desert flats and low slopes in the Chihuahuan desert, and open shrubland and grassland in coastal regions. Altitudinal range 0 - 1350 m.

Shrubby deserts in Brewster Co., Texas, and Dona Ana Co., New Mexico, represent typical habitats of host yuccas.

References


Pellmyr, O. 1999. Systematic revision of the Tegeticula yuccasella complex 
    (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae) north of Mexico. Systematic Entomology 24:243-271.

Holotype in USNM.

About this page

Olle Pellmyr
E-mail: olle.pellmyr@vanderbilt.edu.
Dept of Biology, Vanderbilt University, Box 1812-B Nashville, TN 37235, USA

Title illustration: Tegeticula treculeanella male and female (Cameron Co, Texas).