Wheeleria spilodactyla (Curtis, 1927)

Urso, Marchese, Giovanni & Nel, Jacques, 2008, A survey of Pterophoridae (Lepidoptera) of North-Eastern Sicily with new distributional records, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 48 (1), pp. 197-208 : 203-204

Wheeleria spilodactyla (Curtis, 1927)

( Figs. 14-15 ) Material examined. DISTRICT OF MT. ETNA: Piano delle Ginestre (Bronte), 1,000 m a.s.l., VB8787, 25.vi.2004, 1 J ; 18.vi.2005, 5 JJ 7 ♀♀; 8.ix.2005, 1 J 1 ♀; 19.ix.2005, 2 JJ ( GMCI) .

Biology. Adults: wingspan 17-24 mm. The adults fly from April to October. In north-eastern Sicily they have been collected in June and September. This species is attracted by artificial light but is easier to find at sunset on Marrubium vulgare . The pupae are very hairy with a cryptic appearance, and are thus hardly recognizable on the host plants. Larval host plants: Marrubium vulgare L. and Ballota nigra L. ( Lamiaceae ).

Range in Italy. Trentino Alto-Adige; Molise; Sardinia; Sicily (new record).

Distribution. Euro-Mediterranean. Introduced in the 1990s to Australia to control Marrubium vulgare , taken there in the early 19th century.

Remarks. Male genitalia are similar to those in specimens from Spain (ARENBERGER 1995), Great Britain ( GIELIS 1996), and France ( NEL 2003).

Figures

Figs. 14-15. Wheeleria spilodactyla (Curtis, 1827), male. 14 – body, dorsal view; 15 – genitalia. Abbreviations: a – anellus; u – uncus; v – valve.