Oiketicus kirbyi

Oiketicus kirbyi is a moth of the family Psychidae. It is found in lowlands from Argentina to Mexico and on the Caribbean islands.

Oiketicus kirbyi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Psychidae
Genus: Oiketicus
Species:
O. kirbyi
Binomial name
Oiketicus kirbyi
Guilding, 1827

There is strong sexual dimorphism in the adults. Females are wingless.

The larvae feed on various plants, including Musa, Theobroma cacao, Elaeis guineensis, Bactris gasipaes, Cocos nucifera, Citrus, Tectona grandis, Eucalyptus, Persea americana, Eriobotrya japonica and Terminalia catappa. It was a serious pest in commercial banana plantations on Costa Rica's Atlantic coast from 1962 to 1964. It developed into a serious pest in oil palm plantations in the 1990s.


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