Pectinophora scutigera
Encyclopedia
The Queensland Pink Bollworm or Pinkspotted Bollworm (Pectinophora scutigera) is a moth
of the Gelechiidae
family. It was described from Australia
, where it occurs in coastal and central Queensland
. It has also been recorded from Hawaii
, New Guinea
and Micronesia
.
Adults are very similar to Pectinophora gossypiella and can only be separated with certainty by an examination of the genitalia.
The larvae feed on Gossypium
species, Hibiscus tiliaceus and Thespesia populnea. Practically all parts of the host plants are liable to attack, including squares, flowers, bolls in all stages, terminal shoots, boll pedicels and even fairly woody. Larvae often seem to browse on the green tissues of the outside of the bolls before entering the bolls, and sometimes make several holes in a group without gaining entrance to the boll through any of them.
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...
of the Gelechiidae
Gelechiidae
Gelechiidae is a family of moths commonly referred to as twirler moths or gelechiid moths. They are the namesake family of the huge and little-studied superfamily Gelechioidea, and the Gelechiidae's relationships with and delimitation against their relatives have been subject to considerable...
family. It was described from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, where it occurs in coastal and central Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. It has also been recorded from Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and Micronesia
Micronesia
Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....
.
Adults are very similar to Pectinophora gossypiella and can only be separated with certainty by an examination of the genitalia.
The larvae feed on Gossypium
Gossypium
Gossypium is the cotton genus. It belongs to the tribe Gossypieae, in the mallow family, Malvaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions from both the Old and New World. The genus Gossypium comprises around 50 species , making it the largest in species number in the tribe Gosssypioieae....
species, Hibiscus tiliaceus and Thespesia populnea. Practically all parts of the host plants are liable to attack, including squares, flowers, bolls in all stages, terminal shoots, boll pedicels and even fairly woody. Larvae often seem to browse on the green tissues of the outside of the bolls before entering the bolls, and sometimes make several holes in a group without gaining entrance to the boll through any of them.