Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Pyralidae | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Rank Species | |
Genus Metephestia
Hampson in Ragonot, 1901 |
Metephestia simplicula is a species of snout moth, and the only species in the genus Metephestia. It was described by Zeller in 1881, and is known from Colombia., southern Florida, Puerto Rico and the West Indies.
There are several generations per year.
The larvae feed on Indigofera species, including Indigofera hirsuta, Indigofera suffruticosa and Indigofera tinctoria. Young larvae feed on unexpanded leaflets. Later, it ties together several leaflets with silk. They feed on the leaflets and bore into the petiolules of their host plant from within this shelter.
References
Metephestia simplicula Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA