Upiga

Senita moth
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Crambidae
Genus:
Upiga

Capps, 1964[1]
Species:
U. virescens
Binomial name
Upiga virescens
(Hulst, 1900)
Synonyms
  • Eromene virescens Hulst, 1900

Upiga is a monotypic moth genus described by Hahn William Capps in 1964.[1] The genus is placed in the family Crambidae, but has also been placed in Pyralidae. It contains only one species, Upiga virescens, the senita moth, described by George Duryea Hulst in 1900 and found in the Sonoran Desert of North America.[2][3]

The moth is best known for its obligate mutualism with Pachycereus schottii, the senita cactus. The senita moth is one of the few pollinators of the senita cactus, and the moth relies on the cactus as a host for reproduction. Larvae bore into flowers and consume the developing fruit and seeds inside. This obligate mutualism is similar to that of yuccas and yucca moths.[4]

  1. ^ a b "GlobIZ search". Global Information System on Pyraloidea. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  2. ^ "801029 – 4851 – Upiga virescens – (Hulst, 1900)". Moth Photographers Group. Mississippi State University.
  3. ^ Holland, J.; Buchanan, A.; Loubeau, R. (2004). "Oviposition choice and larval survival of an obligately pollinating granivorous moth". Evolutionary Ecology Research. 6: 607–618. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.518.3095.
  4. ^ Holland, J. Nathaniel; Fleming, Theodore H. (January 9, 1999). "Mutualistic Interactions Between Upiga virescens (Pyralidae), a Pollinating Seed-Consumer, and Lophocereus schottii (Cactaceae)". Ecology. 80 (6): 2074–2084. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080[2074:mibuvp]2.0.co;2. hdl:1911/21700. ISSN 1939-9170.[permanent dead link]