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Prodoxus marginatus Riley

including P. pulverulentus Riley

Olle Pellmyr
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Containing group: Prodoxus

Adult Characteristics

Wing expanse 8-12 mm. The smallest of all Prodoxus species. Forewing in northern populations white with a dark patch near the outer edge in the female, diffuse to absent in male; in southern populations, males generally have a gray streak parallel with the outer edge, whereas females have extensive dark scaling over the forewing, creating a gray shade over the wing. Hindwings uniformly light to medium gray.

Comparison with Similar Species

Mesepiola specca is similar in size, but differs in having interspersed rusty scales in both sexes, and in the female having the prominent abdominal hook.

Host, Oviposition, and Larval Feeding Habits

The species occurs throughout the range of its exclusive host, Yucca whipplei (Agavaceae). Larvae feed inside the basal vegetative portion of the host fruit and occasionally also into the adjacent pedicel portion. Pupation takes place inside the gallery.

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). The moth is known throughout the U.S. portion of this range, except in Arizona. The transition between the light and dark forms coincides in the transverse ranges with the northern range edge of P. cinereus.

Habitat

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

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Typical habitat with old, fruiting Y. whipplei; Santa Barbara Co., California.

Phylogenetic Notes

The light and dark forms were originally described as Prodoxus marginatus and P. pulverulentus, respectively. Davis (1967) retained this status with reservation. Powell and Mackie (1966) suggested that it represented geographically structured intraspecific variation. They proposed subspecies rank but did not formally describe them as such. Frack (1982) agreed with the judgment that the two taxa shouldbe considered one species.

Type

Lectotype in USNM.

Other Names for Prodoxus marginatus Riley

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.

Frack, D.C. 1982. A systematic study of prodoxine moths (Adelidae: Prodoxinae) and their hosts (Agavaceae), with descriptions of the subfamilies of Adelidae (s. lat.). M.S. thesis, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA.

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

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Prodoxus marginatus
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 marginatus
Location San Diego Co., California, USA
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Sex Female
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1996
Scientific Name Prodoxus marginatus
Location Riverside Co., California, USA
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Sex Female
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 marginatus Riley. including P. pulverulentus 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 marginatus Riley. including P. pulverulentus Riley. Version 01 January 1996 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Prodoxus_marginatus/12434/1996.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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