Cometaster
| Faint owl moth | |
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| Genus: | Cometaster Hampson, 1913
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| Species: | C. pyrula
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| Binomial name | |
| Cometaster pyrula (Hopffer, 1857)
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Generic Specific
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Cometaster is a monotypic moth genus of the family Erebidae erected by George Hampson in 1913.[1] Its only species, Cometaster pyrula, the faint owl moth or ying-yang moth, was first described by Carl Heinrich Hopffer in 1857.[2][3]
Distribution
[edit]It is found in Eastern and Southern Africa, mainly in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[2]
Biological control agent
[edit]In October 2004, as part of a biological control project, larvae of this moth from South Africa were released in Queensland, Australia, in order to keep under control the type of acacia Acacia nilotica subsp. indica, a major invasive species in the Mitchell Grass Downs.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Savela, Markku (August 2, 2019). "Cometaster Hampson, 1913". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved December 9, 2019.
- ^ a b "Cometaster pyrula (Hopffer, 1857)". African Moths. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
- ^ Pitkin, Brian & Jenkins, Paul (November 5, 2004). "Genus details: Cometaster". Butterflies and Moths of the World. Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
- ^ Rangaswamy Muniappan, Gadi V. P. Reddy & Anantanarayanan Raman (eds.), Biological Control of Tropical Weeds Using Arthropods, Cambridge University Press 2009, pg. 26
External links
[edit]
Media related to Cometaster at Wikimedia Commons- "The host range and biology of Cometaster pyrula; a biocontrol agent for Acacia nilotica subsp. indica in Australia"
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