Elaphria nucicolora, the sugarcane midget, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Achille Guenée in 1852. It is found from the south-eastern United States (Florida to North Carolina, west to Texas), through Guadeloupe, Jamaica and Puerto Rico to tropical South America (Peru and French Guiana). It is also present on the Hawaiian islands of Oahu, Maui and Hawaii.
| Elaphria nucicolora | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
| Family: | Noctuidae |
| Genus: | Elaphria |
| Species: | E. nucicolora
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| Binomial name | |
| Elaphria nucicolora (Guenée, 1852)
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| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is about 21 mm. Adults are on wing from June to November in Georgia and may be present year round in Florida and the tropics.
Larvae have been recorded feeding on watermelon, Emilia flammea, Euphorbia hirta, Portulaca oleracea, Synedrella nodiflora as well as sugarcane.
References
edit- ^ Becker, Vitor O. (2002). "The Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera) from Cuba described by Herrich-Schäffer and Gundlach in the Gundlach Collection, Havana" (PDF). Revista Brasileira de Zoologia. 19 (2): 349–391. doi:10.1590/S0101-81752002000200006. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 29, 2013.
External links
edit- Zimmerman, Elwood C. (1958). Insects of Hawaii. Vol. 7 Macrolepidoptera. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. hdl:10125/7336.
- "Elaphria nucicolora (Guenée, 1852)". Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of the French Antilles. Retrieved September 16, 2019.
- "932226.00 – 9676 – Elaphria nucicolora – Sugarcane Midget Moth – (Guenée, 1852)". North American Moth Photographers Group. Mississippi State University. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- McLeod, Robin (January 8, 2008). "Species Elaphria nucicolora - Sugarcane Midget - Hodges#9676". BugGuide. Retrieved July 23, 2018.