Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Cossidae | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Rank Genus | |
Subfamily Mehariinae
Yakovlev, 2011 Similar Azygophleps, Phragmataecia, Cossidae, Cossinae, Cossus | ||
Thoughts of an animal during holi ft mugdha meharia
Meharia is a genus of moths belonging to the family Cossidae.
Contents
Diagnosis
Meharia is distinguished from all other Cossidae genus by a number of apomorphous characters: the specific “tineoid appearance”, the reduction of the lateral processes of the juxta, the specific dorsolateral sclerotization of the asymmetric aedeagus and the specific ribbon – like epiphysis.
Description
These are small to medium sized moths, females larger; eyes naked; male and female antennae bipectinate along their length; proboscis reduced; legs long, slender; foretibia bearing a ribbon-like epiphysis; forewing elongate, rounded on the outer margin; forewing pattern has alternate dark and pale spots and bands transversely; hindwing uniform.
Distribution
Eleven species have been reported so far, primarily from the deserts and arid mountains of the Western Palearctic and Africa.