Elophila turbata explained

Elophila turbata is a moth in the family Crambidae found in Africa and Asia. It was first described by the English entomologist Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1881 from a specimen found in Yokohama, Japan.^{[1] [2]}

Description

Adults have been recorded on wing from May to October in Japan.

The larvae feed on common duckweed (Spirodela polyrhiza), floating fern (Salvinia natans), Trapa japonica and Lemna perpusilla.^{[3] [4]}

Predators and parasites

The tiny parasitoid godzilla wasp (Microgaster godzilla) dive in ponds to hunt aquatic larvae, laying their eggs inside the bodies of other insects. In the case of Elophila turbata the wasp hunt the older larvae living in cases near the water's surface. The wasp larvae hatch and eat their host from the inside out.^[5]

Distribution

Elophila turbata is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Taiwan, China, Korea, Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Yakushima, Amami islands, the Ryukyus) and the Russian Far East (Amur, Ussuri).^[2]

Notes and References

1. Web site: GlobIZ search . Global Information System on Pyraloidea . 2014-07-15.
2. Web site: J. . De Prins . W. . De Prins . 2017 . Elophila turbata (Butler, 1881)> . Afromoths . 28 November 2020.
3. Web site: An Aquatic Moths, Elophila turbata (Butler, 1881) (Lepidoptera, Crambidae, Nymphulinae) in Korea, with New Host Plants . 2014-07-18 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140725164100/http://astp.jst.go.jp/modules/search/DocumentDetail/0367-6285%2B%2540%2B1225-0171%2B%2540%2B_46_1_An%2BAquatic%2BMoths%252C%2BElophila%2Bturbata%2B%2528Butler%252C%2B1881%2529%2B%2528Lepidoptera%252C%2BCrambidae%252C%2BNymphulinae%2529%2Bin%2BKorea%252C%2Bwith%2BNew%2BHost%2BPlants_N%252FA . 2014-07-25 . dead .
4. 1985: A systematic study of the Nymphulinae and the Musotiminae of Japan (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Scientific Reports of the Kyoto Prefectural University Agriculture, Kyoto 37: 1–162. Abstract and full article: http://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/110000057822/en.
5. Buehler . Jake . Godzilla wasps are water-loving terrors . New Scientist . 3309 . 21 November 2020 . 22.