Water ferns Azolla spp. (Azollaceae) as new host plants for the small China-mark moth, Cataclysta lemnata (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera, Crambidae, Acentropinae)

By

Farahpour Haghani, Atousa
Hassanpour, Mahdi
Alinia, Faramarz
Nouri-Ganbalani, Gadir
Razmjou, Jabraeil
Agassiz, David J. L.

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2017-1-20

Original Publication

Nota lepidopterologica

Volume

40

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

1--13

Subjects

Azollaceae , Lemnaceae , moth , rice field , waterway

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Bonn,

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/nl.40.10062

 

Abstract

Water ferns (Azolla spp., Azollaceae) are reported for the first time as host plants for the larvae of the small China-mark moth Cataclysta lemnata (Linnaeus) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Acentropinae) in rice fields and waterways of northern Iran. Cataclysta lemnata is a semi-aquatic species that has been recorded to feed on Lemnaceae and a few other aquatic plants. However, it has not been reported before on Azolla spp. Larvae use water fern as food source and shelter and, at high population density in the laboratory, they completely wiped water fern from the water surface. Feeding was confirmed after rearing more than eight continual generations of C. lemnata on water fern in the laboratory. Adults obtained this way are darker and have darker fuscous markings in both sexes compared with specimens previously reported and the pattern remains unchanged after several generations.