Heliocheilus albipunctella
Encyclopedia
The Millet Head Miner Moth (Heliocheilus albipunctella) is a moth
in the Noctuidae
family. It is found in the Sahel
ian region of West Africa
.
The flight period of the adult moth coincides with the peak of millet
panicle emergence and flowering, which is towards the end of August in southern Niger.
After hatching, caterpillars feed and complete their larval development within the panicle. During this period the seed head also grows and develops, passing from emergence through flowering to grain-filling and maturity. The early larval instars eat into individual florets, whilst larger larvae consume peduncles, thereby killing the developing grains, and creating mines around the rachis which are evident as characteristic raised tracks on the panicle surface. Full-grown caterpillars are pink. When mature they drop to the ground, where they burrow into the soil to pupate, usually close to the host plant.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
in the Noctuidae
Noctuidae
The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....
family. It is found in the Sahel
Sahel
The Sahel is the ecoclimatic and biogeographic zone of transition between the Sahara desert in the North and the Sudanian Savannas in the south.It stretches across the North African continent between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea....
ian region of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
.
The flight period of the adult moth coincides with the peak of millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
panicle emergence and flowering, which is towards the end of August in southern Niger.
After hatching, caterpillars feed and complete their larval development within the panicle. During this period the seed head also grows and develops, passing from emergence through flowering to grain-filling and maturity. The early larval instars eat into individual florets, whilst larger larvae consume peduncles, thereby killing the developing grains, and creating mines around the rachis which are evident as characteristic raised tracks on the panicle surface. Full-grown caterpillars are pink. When mature they drop to the ground, where they burrow into the soil to pupate, usually close to the host plant.