Tucumania tapiacola

Tucumania tapiacola is a species of snout moth in the genus Tucumania. It was described by Harrison Gray Dyar Jr. in 1925. It is found in Argentina and has been introduced to Australia and South Africa.

Tucumania tapiacola
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Pyralidae
Genus:
Tucumania
Species:
T. tapiacola
Binomial name
Tucumania tapiacola
Dyar, 1925
Synonyms
  • Zophodia tapiacola

The wingspan is 24–34 mm. The forewings are soft grey, with a slightly darker pattern of markings. The hindwings are pearly white, but dusky toward the outer margin. The length of the life cycle is irregular, but both in Argentina and in Australia there are usually two complete generations and a third partial generation annually.[1]

The larvae feed on Opuntia aurantiaca and Opuntia discolor.[2] They are solitary and tunnel in the segments of their host plant, often transferring from one joint to another. The larvae are purplish or wine colored. Pupation takes place in a cocoon, spun either within the hollowed-out segments, among debris or just beneath the soil surface.

References
  1. Mann, John (1969). "Cactus-Feeding Insects and Mites". Bulletin of the United States National Museum. doi:10.5479/si.03629236.256.1.
  2. Cactus Feeding Moths


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