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Prodoxus aenescens Riley

Olle Pellmyr
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Containing group: Prodoxus

Adult Characteristics

Wing expanse 9-15 mm. Forewing uniformly brownish gray, with a somewhat bronzy luster. Populations in the southern part of the range are somewhat lighter. Hindwings of the same color, but lightly scaled.

Comparison with Similar Species

Prodoxus cinereus, with which it coexists in part of its range, is often somewhat lighter, but they can only be reliably told apart through inspection of the genitalia. In the male, the valva of aenescens is narrow and it has a rounder outer edge. In the female, the ovipositor has a prominent arched, dorsal ridge that terminates at the ovipositor shaft. In the larva, cinereus have two ventral hooks on the abdominal tip. When the two species are found together, aenescens tend to emerge somewhat later than cinereus.

Host, Oviposition, and Larval Feeding Habits

The species occurs throughout the range of its exclusive host, Yucca whipplei (Agavaceae). It feeds primarily in the apical portion of the inflorescence stalk, and well above cinereus where they coexist.

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Characteristic habitat with Y. whipplei; Tulare Co., California.

Geographic Distribution

The host occurs in central-southern cismontane California, in Sierra Nevada north to Fresno Co, in northwestern Arizona (USA), and in Baja California Norte (Mexico) to the Vizcaino region (Powell and Mackie 1966). Published records only exist for the portions within the USA.

Habitat

In coastal chaparral and montane dry shrubby grassland with Yucca whipplei (Agavaceae).

Type

Lectotype in USNM.

References

Davis, D.R. 1967. A revision of the moths of the subfamily Prodoxinae (Lepidoptera: Incurvariidae). U.S. Nat. Hist. Mus., Bull. 255:1-170. Smiths. Contrib. Zool. 524:1-88.

Powell, J.A. and R.A. Mackie. 1966. Biological interrelationships of moths and Yucca whipplei. Univ. Calif. Publ. Entomol. 42:1-59.

Title Illustrations
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Lighter male from southern portion of range: San Diego Co., California.
Darker male from northern portion of range: Tulare Co., California.

Scientific Name Prodoxus aenescens
Location San Diego Co., California, USA
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Sex Male
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1996
Scientific Name Prodoxus aenescens
Location Tulare Co., California, USA
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Sex Male
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1996
About This Page


University of Idaho, Moscow, Idaho, USA

Page: Tree of Life Prodoxus aenescens Riley. Authored by Olle Pellmyr. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Pellmyr, Olle. 1996. Prodoxus aenescens Riley. Version 01 January 1996 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Prodoxus_aenescens/12437/1996.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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