Proditrix, a new genus forTitanomis tetragonaHudson andPlutella megalyntaMeyrick and allies (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae), shoot destroyers of Monocotyledones

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Proditrix new genus is proposed to contain the species Titanomis tetragona Hudson, Plutella megalynta Meyrick, P. gahniae n. sp., and P. chionochloae n. sp. Adult and larval characters are described and keys are given to species. Cocoons of some species, and pupa of one species, are described and figured. Host plants are all large members of the monocotyledonous families Cyperaceae, Liliaceae, Pandanaceae, and Poaceae. Larvae kill the crown of the shoot, which leads to apex death or proliferation of side shoots. Larvae show structural adaptations to an intermittently semiaquatic environment. Proditrix adults attain 55 mm wing expanse, and larvae may be 40 mm long. A species with similar external characters is known from Tasmania; the structurally closest relative of the group is the New Zealand endemic genus Doxophyrtis Meyrick, a borer in spathes, fruit, and petioles of the palm Rhopalostylis.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: