Stemorrhages sericea

Stemorrhages sericea, the large emerald pearl, is a moth of the subfamily of Spilomelinae within the family Crambidae. It lives throughout Africa south of the Sahara,[1] and the Indian Ocean islands of Réunion, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Comoros.

Large emerald pearl
Hiding on leaf underside
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Crambidae
Genus: Stemorrhages
Species:
S. sericea
Binomial name
Stemorrhages sericea
(Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena (Pyralis) sericea Drury, 1773
  • Margarodes beryllalis Guenée, 1854
  • Margarodes beryttalis
  • Margaronia congradalis Hübner, 1825
  • Geometra laterata Fabricius, 1794
  • Phalaena Noctua polita Cramer, 1779
  • Margarodes sericeolalis Guenée, 1862
  • Botys thalassinalis Boisduval, 1833

Adults are pale turquoise with a brown stripe at the front edge of the wings. They have a brush of brown scent disseminating scales, called androconia, on the tail that can be everted for mate attraction.

The larvae feed on species of the Rubiaceae (including Gardenia jasminoides), the Apocynaceae (including Nerium oleander, Tabernanthe iboga, Tabernaemontana persicaefolia and Ervatamia coronaria), and besides on Raphia and Afrocarpus.[1][2]

References
  1. De Prins, J. & De Prins, W. (2013). "Stemorrhages sericea (Drury, 1773)". Afromoths – An online database of Afrotropical moth species. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
  2. Goff, R.; et al. "Stemorrhages sericea (Drury, 1773)". African Moths. Retrieved 16 March 2014.


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