A peculiar new species of gall-inducing, clearwing moth (Lepidoptera, Sesiidae) associated with Cayaponia in the Atlantic Forest.

ABSTRACT: Larvae of most clearwing moths (Lepidoptera, Sesiidae) are endophagous borers of many angiosperms, including their fruits, stems, and roots. Their localized feeding may lead to swellings on those plant parts, but whether the structures produced should be considered true galls is still controversial. In this study we describe a peculiar sesiid moth, Neospheciacecidogena sp. nov. whose larvae induce unusual, external galls on Cayponiapilosa (Vell.) Cogn. (Cucurbitaceae) in the Atlantic Forest of southernmost Brazil. The adults, egg, larva, pupa and the gall are described and illustrated based on light and scanning electron microscopy. Galls are cylindrical and unilocular; they are induced individually on axillary buds of the C.pilosa stem. Unlike larvae of other s

SUBMITTER: Moreira GRP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6669215 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature