Homaledra sabalella

Homaledra sabalella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pterolonchidae
Genus:	Homaledra
Species:	H. sabalella
Binomial name
	Homaledra sabalella; (Chambers, 1880)
Synonyms
	Laverna sabalella Chambers, 1880;

Homaledra sabalella, the palm leaf skeletonizer moth, is a moth in the family Pterolonchidae.[1] It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.[1] It is also present in Puerto Rico, Hispaniola and Cuba.

Taxonomy

Homaledra sabalella was described as Laverna sabalella by Vactor Tousey Chambers in 1880.[2] It was included in the family Coleophoridae by Ron Hodges in 1983. Hodges then moved it to the subfamily Batrachedrinae of the Batrachedridae in 1999.[2][3][4] In 2014, a cladistic analysis performed by Heikkilä et al., which led them to decide it was better to reclassify the genus in the family Pterolonchidae.[5]

Description

The wingspan is about 18 mm. Adults mature and are active year-round.

Ecology

The larvae feed on Sabal palmetto, Sabal causiarum and Cocos nucifera. They feed on the palm fronds.

References

Moth Photographers Group at Mississippi State University
Savela, Markku (5 February 2015). "Homaledra". Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
Brown, Richard L. (19 August 2015). "Batrachedridae Overview". Gelechioidea - a Global Framework. Mississippi State University. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
Hodges, Ronald W. (1999). "The Gelechioidea". In Kristensen, N.P. (ed.). Handbuch der Zoologie/Handbook of Zoology Vol. 4, part 35. Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies Vol. 1. Evolution, Systematics and Biogeography. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 131–158. ISBN 9783110157048.
Heikkilä, Maria; Mutanen, Marko; Kekkonen, Mari; Kaila, Lauri (November 2014). "Morphology reinforces proposed molecular phylogenetic affinities: a revised classification for Gelechioidea (Lepidoptera)". Cladistics. 30 (6): 563–589. doi:10.1111/cla.12064. Retrieved 17 December 2019.

Arctiidae genus list at Butterflies and Moths of the World of the Natural History Museum, London

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[MPG1422-1] Moth Photographers Group at Mississippi State University

[Savela2015-2] Savela, Markku (5 February 2015). "Homaledra". Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Retrieved 22 December 2019.

[Brown2015-3] Brown, Richard L. (19 August 2015). "Batrachedridae Overview". Gelechioidea - a Global Framework. Mississippi State University. Retrieved 12 December 2019.

[Hodges1999-4] Hodges, Ronald W. (1999). "The Gelechioidea". In Kristensen, N.P. (ed.). Handbuch der Zoologie/Handbook of Zoology Vol. 4, part 35. Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies Vol. 1. Evolution, Systematics and Biogeography. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 131–158. ISBN 9783110157048.

[Heikkilä2014-5] Heikkilä, Maria; Mutanen, Marko; Kekkonen, Mari; Kaila, Lauri (November 2014). "Morphology reinforces proposed molecular phylogenetic affinities: a revised classification for Gelechioidea (Lepidoptera)". Cladistics. 30 (6): 563–589. doi:10.1111/cla.12064. Retrieved 17 December 2019.