Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Pyralidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Melitara | |
Melitara doddalis is a species of snout moth in the genus Melitara. It was described by Dyar in 1925, and is found in southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, south-western Texas and northern Mexico.
Adults are on wing from September to early October.
The larvae feed on Opuntia ficus-indica, Opuntia macrorhiza var. macrorhiza and Opuntia phaeacantha var. phaeacantha. They tunnel downward into the basal segments of the host plant. Pupation occurs on the ground during August and September.
Taxonomy
The species was previously considered a synonym of Melitara dentata.
References
Melitara doddalis Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA