common name: Erythrina moths
scientific name: Terastia meticulosalis Guenée and Agathodes designalis Guenée (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Spilomelinae)

Introduction - Synonymy - Distribution - Description - Hosts - Economic Importance - Management - Selected References

Introduction

Synonymy

There are nine other species of Agathodes described. For example, Agathodes ostentalis, similar to A. designalis, is found throughout Asia and Australia. Larvae of A. ostentalis also feed on Erythrina, but are different in appearance from those of A. designalis.

In Florida, and throughout the North American populations, A. designalis is represented by the subspecies A. designalis monstralis, while A. designalis designalis was originally described from South America. Additional work on the genus, including new methods such as the DNA barcoding, is likely to change current classification of the genus (Dan Janzen, pers. com.). For instance, larvae of A. designalis in Costa Rica are different from those in Florida, perhaps emphasizing the underlying taxonomic differences (Janzen & Hallwachs 2011; Sourakov 2011).

pinned T. meticulosalis adult

pinned A. designalis adult

Distribution

Description

Adults: In T. meticulosalis, size depends on the generation and locality, and therefore the diet, of the caterpillars. For instance, in Florida, the Spring generation that feeds on seeds was shown to be larger than the Summer and Fall generations that feed inside the stem. The wing span for Spring generations was ~1.4 inches (3.7 cm) versus ~1.2 inches (3.0 cm) for Summer generations, and as small as ~1.0 inches (2.5 cm) in Fall generations. (Sourakov, 2011). Collection specimens from South America are notably larger (~1.8 inches or 4.6 cm).

The marbled-brown forewings of T. meticulosalis make this species cryptic when at rest. However, its hind wings are white, as seen above.

live T. meticulosalis adult

Eggs: The oviposition of T. meticulosalis has not been described.

Larvae: The young larvae of T. meticulosalis are found inside the stems of Erythrina herbacea, where their feeding produces a characteristic dying-off of the tip of the host plant. The infestation rate by T. meticulosalis can be relatively high. As the availability of undamaged shoots of E. herbacea declines, neonate larvae bore and feed inside the leaf stalks and later make their way inside the stems.

E. herbacea exhibiting characteristic damage

In younger larvae, the dorsal prothoracic plate and the head are black and heavily sclerotized. In older larvae, the prothoracic plate becomes cream-colored, slightly darker than the rest of the body, which is otherwise translucent and cream-colored.

T. meticulosalis second instar larva

In the Spring, young larvae of T. meticulosalis infest the tips of the stem and gradually kill off the upper part of the plant, from where they move into the pods to feed on seeds.

T. meticulosalis third instar larva

Prior to pupation, last instar larvae are able to consume large numbers of seeds and move from one pod to another. Larvae of T. meticulosalis sometimes accumulate red pigments prior to exiting pods to pupate on the forest floor. However, this was only observed in the Spring generation that feeds on seeds (Sourakov 2011).

T. meticulosalis prepupa

The larvae of Summer and Fall generations of T. meticulosalis feed inside the stems until pupation (the seeds become hard and pods splits open during this time). Hence, the Summer/Fall larvae look paler than Spring ones.

T. meticulosalis mature larva in stem

T. meticulosalis mature larva

T. meticulosalis mature larva - close-up of head capsule

T. meticulosalis frass

Pupae: Terastia meticulosalis makes loose double-layered cocoons. The pupa is cream-colored at first, and then becomes light brown, with the proboscis extending far into the abdominal segments.

T. meticulosalis pupa in cocoon

T. meticulosalis pupa - lateral view

T. meticulosalis pupa - ventral view

Adult: Agathodes designalis specimens reared in Florida and Costa Rica are ~1.2 inches (3.0 cm) in wing span, but specimens from South America found in collections can be larger.

The purple-and-green marbled forewings of A. designalis are colorful, while the hind wings are beige. The abdomen is held in an up-right position, which gave the moth an unofficial common name of "sky-pointing moth." Males have a pair of hair-pencils that are extended during "female calling," for the release of pheromones.

live A. designalis adult

Eggs: Eggs of A. designalis are laid singly on the ventral side of the leaf (Bourquin 1945).

Larvae: Young larvae of A. designalis are translucent and orange with six rows of short, black-sclerotized tubercles, and are cryptic.

first and second instar larval webbing

A. designalis fourth instar larva feeding

The later instar larvae and prepupae appear aposematic. They develop cream-colored longitudinal stripes and the black tubercles become more prominent on the orange background, while the head is bright red.

A. designalis mature larva feeding

A. designalis mature larva suspends itself by silk thread

A. designalis mature larva feeding

A. designalis prepupa changes color

Summer and Fall generations of A. designalis feed on leaves and develop slower than the Spring generation that feeds on flowers, which indicates the higher nutritional value of their Spring diet.

A. designalis mature larva inside a shelter

A. designalis mature larva - dorsal view

A. designalis mature larva - lateral view

A. designalis mature larva - frontal view

In the Spring generation that feeds on flowers, the prepupa can become red. The prepupae of Summer and Fall generations are cream-colored.

A. designalis prepupa - Fall generation

There are four generations of A. designalis between May and September in north-central Florida. Larvae of A. designalis collected in Gainesville, Florida in September completed their feeding by mid-October, and diapaused in a prepupal stage inside cocoons (Sourakov, 2011). The diapause might not be present in the warmer parts of the moth's range, or might occur in different seasons.

Pupae: Agathodes designalis makes loose double-layered cocoons similar to these of T. meticulosalis, and the pupa, though it appears more glossy and more uniformly colored brown, is otherwise similar to that of T. meticulosalis.

A. designalis pupa - lateral view

Hosts

Host Plant Species	Locality	Reference	Remarks
Erythrina sandwicensis	Hawaii	Swezey 1923	This population is likely extinct (Zimmerman 1958)
Erythrina variegata	Sri Lanka	Hutson 1920	Moth population now considered as T. subjectalis
Erythrina variegata	Great Nicobar, India	Bhattacharya & Mandal 1976	Moth population now considered as T. subjectalis
Erythrina caffra	South Africa	Taylor 1951	Moth taxonomy unclear
Erythrina herbacea	SE United States	Dyar 1901, Sourakov 2011
Erythrina fusca	Florida	Heppner 2003	Pantropical E. fusca is the most basal of all Erythrina
Erythrina  ×bidwillii	N Florida	Eric Anderson pers. com.	This host is a hybrid:  E. herbacea×E. crista-galli, and is a commercially sold  ornamental
Erythrina crista-galli	N Florida	Eric Anderson pers. com.	In Florida is sold by nurseries as an ornamental

Agathodes designalis

Host Plant Species	Locality of Record	Reference
Erythrina crysta-galli	Argentina N Florida	Bourquin 1932 Eric Anderson pers. com.
Erythrina herbacea	Florida	Dyar 1901
Erythrina flabelliformis	Arizona	Powell & Opler 2009
Erythrina fusca	Florida	Heppner 2003
Erythrina variegata	Florida	Heppner 2003
Inga vera	Florida	Heppner 2003
Erythrina  ×bidwillii	N Florida	Eric Anderson pers. com.
Citharexylum berlandieri	Florida	Heppner 2003
Citharexylum spinosum	Florida	Heppner 2003
Kigelia africana	Florida	Heppner 2003
Nerium oleander	Florida	Heppner 2003
Erythrina costaricensis	Costa Rica, ACG	Janzen & Hallwachs 2011
Erythrina lanceolata	Costa Rica, ACG	Janzen & Hallwachs 2011
Erythrina berteroana	Costa Rica, ACG	Janzen & Hallwachs 2011
Triumfetta lappula	Costa Rica, ACG	Janzen & Hallwachs 2011

coral bean, E. herbacea, in April

coral bean, E. herbacea in May - close-up of flowers

coral bean with T. meticulosalis damage in June

coral bean with pods open in August

Economic Importance

Terastia meticulosalis is a serious pest of naturally-occurring and commercially grown Erythrina, a genus valued for its many uses from agricultural and ornamental to medicinal and pest control (Powell & Westley 1993). Raven (1974) suggested that T. meticulosalis makes the cultivation of Erythrina in southern Florida almost impossible.

Despite its small size, T. meticulosalis requires a substantial amount of plant material to develop to the adult stage, including seeds. Plants can be substantially damaged by larvae boring into the center of the stem, killing parts of the plant above. As a result, the health of host plants can be severely affected and the whole plant, or at least its reproductive organs, are often destroyed.

Agathodes designalis has a marginal impact on E. herbacea, though it can destroy flowers, making coral bean less attractive as an ornamental.

Selected References

• Bhattacharya DP, Mandal DK. 1976. A new record of Terastia meticulosalis Guenée (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) from the Gt. Nicobar Island. Newsletter Zoological Survey of India 2: 23-24.
• Brown SH. 2011. Erythrina herbacea, Coral-bean, cardinal-spear, Cherokee-bean. Lee County - Southwest Florida. http://lee.ifas.ufl.edu/Hort/GardenPubsAZ/Coral-Bean_Tree_Erythrina_herbacea.pdf (5 January 2012).
• Bourquin F. 1932. Observaciones biológicas sobre Agathodes designalis (fam. Pyraustidae). Revista de la Sociedad Entomologica Argentina 5: 13-14.
• Bourquin F. 1945. Observaciones biológicas sobre Agathodes designalis. pp. 117-119. In Mariposas argentinas. Vida, desarrollo, costumbres y hechos curiosos de algunos lepidópteros argentines. Buenos Aires. 212 pp.
• Dyar HG. 1901. Descriptions of some pyralid larvae from southern Florida. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 9: 19-24.
• Goff R. 2011. Terastia meticulosalis Guenée, 1854. African Moths. http://africanmoths.com/pages/CRAMBIDAE/SPILOMELINAE/terastia_meticulosalis.htm (5 January 2012).
• Heppner JB. 2007. Lepidoptera of Florida, Part 1: Introduction and catalog. Arthropods of Florida and neighboring land areas. Vol. 17. Florida Department of Agriculture, 670 pp.
• Janzen DH, Hallwachs W. 2011. Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG), northwestern Costa Rica: Caterpillars, pupae, butterflies & moths database. http://janzen.sas.upenn.edu/caterpillars/database.lasso (5 January 2012).
• Peck SB, Heraty J, Landry B, Sinclair BJ. 1998. Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. American Entomologist 44: 218-237.
• Powell JA, Opler PA. 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press, Berkeley, 369 pp.
• Powell MH, Westley SB. (editors). 1993. Erythrina Production and Use: A Field Manual. Nitrogen Fixing Tree Association. Paia, Hawaii. 55 pp.
• Raven PH. 1974. Erythrina (Fabaceae): Achievements and opportunities. Lloydia 37: 321-331.
• Sourakov A. 2011. Niche partitioning, co-evolution and life histories of Erythrina moths, Terastia meticulosalis and Agathodes designalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). Tropical Lepidoptera Research 21: 84-94.
• Swezey OH. 1923. The Erythrina Twig-borer (Terastia meticulosalis) in Hawaii (Pyralidae, Lepidoptera). Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 5: 297-298.
• Taylor JS. 1951. Notes on Lepidoptera in the eastern Cape Province (Part II). Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa 14: 94-126.
• USGS. (April 2006). Erythrina herbacea. Geology and Environmental Change Science Center. http://esp.cr.usgs.gov/data/atlas/little/erytherb.pdf (5 January 2012).
• Zimmerman EC. 1958. Insects of Hawaii: A Manual of the Insects of the Hawaiian Islands, including an Enumeration of the Species and Notes on their Origin, Distribution, Hosts, Parasites, etc. Volume 8 (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea). University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 456 pp.

Authors: Andrei Sourakov, University of Florida
Photographs: Andrei Sourakov, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
Project Coordinator: Thomas R. Fasulo, University of Florida
Publication Number: EENY-516
Publication Date: January 2012
Copyright 2012 University of Florida

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