Prodoxus y-inversus

Prodoxus y-inversus is a moth of the family Prodoxidae. It is found in the United States in south-western New Mexico, south-eastern Arizona and southern Nevada. The habitat consists of shrubby desert and open forests.

Prodoxus y-inversus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Prodoxidae
Genus:
Prodoxus
Species:
P. y-inversus
Binomial name
Prodoxus y-inversus
Riley, 1892
Synonyms
  • Prodoxus y-inversum

The wingspan is 11–16 mm. The forewings are near white with dark brown bands, forming an inversed "Y" in the outer portion of the wing. These bands are lighter in males. The hindwings are pale brown.[1] Adults are on wing from April to May.[2]

The larvae feed on Yucca baccata and Yucca schottii. They feed in a gallery inside the fruit, and eventually create a hardened pupation gallery.

The species has the longest reported diapause among insects. Structures of the host plant containing prepupae of the species were collected in Nevada, and successful emergence of adults was observed 19 years later, under artificial conditions.[3]

References
  1. TOLweb
  2. Pellmyr, O, 2006: Phylogeny and life history evolution of Prodoxus yucca moths (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae). Systematic Entomology 31: 1-20.
  3. Book of Insect Records


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