Cometaster Explained

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

It is found in Eastern and Southern Africa, mainly in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Biological control agent

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]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Savela . Markku . August 2, 2019 . Cometaster Hampson, 1913 . Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms . December 9, 2019.
  2. http://www.africanmoths.com/pages/EREBIDAE/EREBINAE/cometaster%20pyrula.html "Cometaster pyrula (Hopffer, 1857)"
  3. Web site: Pitkin . Brian . Jenkins . Paul . amp . November 5, 2004 . Genus details: Cometaster . Butterflies and Moths of the World . . 11 November 2015.
  4. Rangaswamy Muniappan, Gadi V. P. Reddy & Anantanarayanan Raman (eds.), Biological Control of Tropical Weeds Using Arthropods, Cambridge University Press 2009, pg. 26