Homaledra sabalella
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pterolonchidae
Genus: Homaledra
Species:
H. sabalella
Binomial name
Homaledra sabalella
(Chambers, 1880)
Synonyms
  • Laverna sabalella Chambers, 1880

Homaledra sabalella, the palm leaf skeletonizer moth, is a moth in the family Pterolonchidae.[1] It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.[1] It is also present in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba.

Taxonomy

Homaledra sabalella was described as Laverna sabalella by Vactor Tousey Chambers in 1880.[2] It was included in the family Coleophoridae by Ron Hodges in 1983. Hodges then moved it to the subfamily Batrachedrinae of the Batrachedridae in 1999.[2][3][4] In 2014, a cladistic analysis performed by Heikkilä et al., which led them to decide it was better to reclassify the genus in the family Pterolonchidae.[5]

Description

The wingspan is about 18 mm. Adults mature and are active year-round.

Ecology

The larvae feed on Sabal palmetto, Sabal causiarum and Cocos nucifera. They feed on the palm fronds.

References

  1. 1 2 Moth Photographers Group at Mississippi State University
  2. 1 2 Savela, Markku (5 February 2015). "Homaledra". Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  3. ↑ Brown, Richard L. (19 August 2015). "Batrachedridae Overview". Gelechioidea - a Global Framework. Mississippi State University. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  4. ↑ Hodges, Ronald W. (1999). "The Gelechioidea". In Kristensen, N.P. (ed.). Handbuch der Zoologie/Handbook of Zoology Vol. 4, part 35. Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies Vol. 1. Evolution, Systematics and Biogeography. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 131–158. ISBN 9783110157048.
  5. ↑ Heikkilä, Maria; Mutanen, Marko; Kekkonen, Mari; Kaila, Lauri (November 2014). "Morphology reinforces proposed molecular phylogenetic affinities: a revised classification for Gelechioidea (Lepidoptera)". Cladistics. 30 (6): 563–589. doi:10.1111/cla.12064. Retrieved 17 December 2019.


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