Parategeticula elephantipella

Parategeticula elephantipella
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Prodoxidae
Genus:	Parategeticula
Species:	P. elephantipella
Binomial name
Parategeticula elephantipella Pellmyr & Balcazar-Lara, 2000

Parategeticula elephantipella is a moth of the Prodoxidae family. It is found on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Oriental in Veracruz, Mexico.

The wingspan is 21–23 mm for males and 20.5-26.5 mm for females.

The larvae feed on Yucca elephantipes. Young larvae bore into the young fruit of their host plant, where they feed on developing seeds. Fully grown larvae are dull red. They exit the fruit and dig into loose soil, where it creates a solid silk cocoon covered with soil particles.^[1]

Etymology

The species name is derived from the host plant, Yucca elephantipes.

References

1. Systematics of the Yucca Moth Genus Parategeticula (Lepidoptera: Prodoxidae), with Description of Three Mexican Species