Amauta cacica

Amauta cacica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Castniidae
Genus: Amauta
Species: A. cacica
Binomial name
Amauta cacica
(Herrich-Schäffer, [1854])[1]
Synonyms
  • Castnia cacica Herrich-Schäffer, [1854]
  • Castnia angusta Druce, 1907
  • Castnia angusta var. subangusta Strand, 1913
  • Castnia jeanneei Rebel, 1915
  • Castnia oberthüri Houlbert, 1917
  • Castnia procera Boisduval, [1875]
  • Graya panamensis Buchecker, [1880]
  • Castnia cacica ab. bivittifera Strand, 1913
  • Castnia cacica ab. macula Strand, 1913

Amauta cacica, the sugar-cane borer moth, is a moth in the Castniidae family. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama.

The larvae feed on plantains and can cause moderate damage. Other recorded food plants include Heliconia griggsiana. They bore the roots of their host plant. From the initial penetration, larvae tunnel into the corm of the plantain and feed there until close to maturity. The mature larva tunnels upwards in the plantain stalk to an average height of one meter, where it makes an exit hole. The larva retreats back down the tunnel about 30 cm, where it pupates inside a case made of fibers from its host plant.[2]

Subspecies

References

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