Pyroderces rileyi

Pyroderces rileyi (Walsingham, 1882)
(one synonym: Sathrobrota stigmatophora)
Pink Scavenger
COSMOPTERIGIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
&
Stella Crossley

(updated 9 July 2007)

(Photo: courtesy of Walter Ebeling, University of California, Riverside)

The Caterpillars of this species are pink, with a dark brown thorax, a pale brown head, and a black mouth. They scavenge on the damaged flowers and fruit of a variety of agricultural crops, including:

Cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum, MALVACEAE ),

Maize ( Zea mays, POACEAE ), and

Lemon ( Citrus limon, RUTACEAE ).

They grow to a length of about 1 cm.

(Photo: courtesy of Bernard Landry, Muséum d'histoire naturelle de la Ville de Genčve)

The adult moths have brown fore wings with pale streaks, and plain grey hind wings, each edged with a fringe. They have a wingspan of about 1 cm.

(Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Entomology)

The species occurs in many parts of the world, including

North America,

Galpagos Islands, as well as

northern Australia.