Echinocereta Explained

Echinocereta is a monotypic snout moth genus described by Herbert H. Neunzig in 1997. The genus contains only one species, Echinocereta strigalis, described by William Barnes and James Halliday McDunnough in 1912, which is found in the US states of Arizona, California, Texas,^[1] Utah and in Mexico.

The wingspan is 30–43 mm for males and 33–44 mm for females.^[2]

The larvae feed on Echinocereus species,^[3] including Echinocereus pectinatus.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 800589.00 – 5991 – Echinocereta strigalis – (Barnes & McDunnough, 1912) . North American Moth Photographers Group . Mississippi State University . June 25, 2018.
2. http://biostor.org/cache/pdf/5c/00/eb/5c00eb2663059596c885d045111d2f04.pdf The cactus-feeding Phycitinae: A contribution toward a revision of the American pyralidoid moths of the family Phycitidae
3. http://www.nhm.ac.uk/resources-rx/files/simonsen-2008-45661.pdf Phylogeny of the cactus-feeding phycitines and their relatives (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) based on adult morphology: Evaluation of adult character-systems in phycitine systematics and evidence for a single origin of Cactaceae-feeding larvae