Sufetula diminutalis

Sufetula diminutalis is a snout moth in the subfamily Lathrotelinae of the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1866 in the genus Isopteryx from material collected in Honduras.[1]

Sufetula diminutalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Crambidae
Subfamily:	Lathrotelinae
Genus:	Sufetula
Species:	S. diminutalis
Binomial name
Sufetula diminutalis (Walker, 1866)
Synonyms
Hydrocampa dematrialis Druce, 1896

It is found in Florida, the Caribbean (including Bermuda, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica), southern Central America (including Panama, Honduras, Costa Rica) and South America (including Colombia, Peru, Venezuela).[2] The species was first recorded in Europe from numerous adults collected in 2012 in the Zoological Garden of Leipzig, Germany.[3]

The length of the forewings is 4.5–7.5 mm. Adults are on wing year round.

The larvae feed on the roots of palm species, e.g. oil palms, where they bore into the growing tips of roots.[4]

References

1. Nuss, Matthias; Landry, Bernard; Mally, Richard; Vegliante, Francesca; Tränkner, Andreas; Bauer, Franziska; Hayden, James; Segerer, Andreas; Schouten, Rob; Li, Houhun; Trofimova, Tatiana; Solis, M. Alma; De Prins, Jurate; Speidel, Wolfgang (2003–2020). "Global Information System on Pyraloidea (GlobIZ)". www.pyraloidea.org. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
2. Hayden, James E. (2013). "Sufetula Walker in Florida (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)". Insecta Mundi. 296: 1–15.
3. Graf, Friedmar; Kaiser, Christian; Leutsch, Hans; Mally, Richard; Melzer, Heidrun; Nuss, Matthias; Sobczyk, Thomas; Stübner, Andreas; Wauer, Sven (2014). "Aktuelle Daten zur Kleinschmetterlingsfauna von Sachsen (Lepidoptera) VII". Sächsische Entomologische Zeitschrift (in German). 7 (2012/2013): 65–81.
4. Genty, P; Mariau, D. (1975). "Morphologie et biologie du Pyralidae des racines de l'Elaeis, Sufetula diminutalis". Oléagineux (in French). 30 (4): 147-152.