Kingdom Animalia Superfamily Noctuoidea Phylum Arthropoda Rank Species | Class Insecta Family Erebidae Genus Galtara Order Butterflies and moths | |
Similar Butterflies and moths, Senecio madagascariensis, Arctiinae | ||
Galtara extensa is a moth of the family Arctiidae. It is found on the Comoros and in Madagascar.
Contents
Biology
The eggs of this species have a diameter of 0.8 mm and 0.75 mm in height (dome shaped). They are of cream to white colour when deposited and turn black on the day before hatching. They are laid singly or in batches underside of the leaves. The duration of eggs is 5–6 days. The larvae feed at night, their head is smooth, the body is covered with dark, plumose setae. At maturity they reach a size of 26.4 mm. Pupae is abouth half the length of the larvae, the pupal stage is of 11–12 days.
Adults of this moth are mostly of mottled shades of gray with white and with black spotting on the forewings. The whole life span of this moths is about 41 days, producing up to 9 generation in a year under laboratory conditions.
The larvae of this moths feed on fireweed Senecio madagascariensis (an Asteraceae), a plant also native to Madagascar that had been introduced to Australia and Hawaii, where it has become an invasive pest.
To a lesser extent they also feed on Delairea odorata, Senecio vulgaris, Crassocephalum crepidioides, Emilia fosbergii, Erechtites hieracifolia and Helianthus annuus (Sunflowers).
Biological control
In December 2012 the United States Departement of Agriculture approved the release of Galtara extensa in Hawaii to combat the spread of fireweed.