Palpita vitrealis

Crambidae : Spilomelinae

Palpita vitrealis

PALPITA vitrealis (Rossi, 1794)

Kind permission - © Tim Norriss

Life Cycle Guide - Adult Only

Description

Vernacular Name: Olive-tree Pearl : Jasmine Moth
Wingspan: 27 - 31mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe as migrant - excluding (Cyprus,Lithuania,Luxembourg,North Aegean Isles,Slovenia and Ukraine) : Africa - (Angola, Comoros, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, La Reunion, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania,Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe) : Madeira : Oriental Region : Australia : South America
UK Distribution: Immigrant from southern Europe mostly recorded in South West England and southern England,recorded as far north as Cumbria,usually appearing in the autumn months
UK Conservation Status -

Migrant

European Conservation Status -

Least Concern

Original Species Name -

Phalaena vitrealis (Rossi, 1794)

Type Species -

Pyralis unionalis Hübner, 1796

Type Locality -

Not Specified

Flight Period: July - November
Habitat: Dry Meadow with bushes and sparse mixed woodland : Coastal Habitat
Similar Species -

None

Larva: Early instar larvae feed on the underside of the leaves making the upper surface turn brown.Later instar larvae tie leaves or parts of leaves together with silk.In Olives also feed on fruits forming feeding holes or galleries.Final instar larvae spins one or several leaves together forming a silky cocoon before pupation.
Observations: Resident in southern Europe this moth migrates as far north as Sweden and is found eastwards to the Oriental Regions and Australia, and westwards to South America. In Britain the moth appears in most years but mostly in south west England.
The moth forewings are white and translucent with a glossy sheen and orange or brown leading edge.
It is reported in southern European countries that the larvae are a pest on Olive and Jasmine cultivated for perfume, with a loss of ripening Olives as much as 30%

Photo Gallery

Larval Food Plants Worldwide

Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.

Apocynaceae - Dogbane Family
- Wrightia tinctoria - Pale Indigo
Ericaceae - Heather Family
- Arbutus unedo - Strawberry Tree
Oleceae - Mesophytic Shrubs - Trees - Vines
- Jasmium auriculatum - Vahl
- Jasmium dichotomum - Winter-Flowering Jasmine
- Jasminum officinale - Jessamine, Poet's jasmine
- Jasminum sambac - Arabian Jasmine
- Olea europaea - Olive
  - Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
    - Oleceae - Ligustrum - Privet/Fraxinus - Ash

Taxonomy

Kingdom:
Subkingdom:
Phylum:
Subphylum:
Class:
Order:
Superfamily:
Family:
Subfamily:
Genus:
Accepted Species Name:

Type Species - PALPITA:

Original Species Name:
Species Names:

Literary Ref:

Type Locality:

Animalia
Eumetozoa
Arthropoda
Hexapoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Pyraloidea
Crambidae
Spilomelinae
PALPITA Hübner 1808
Palpita vitrealis (Rossi, 1794)
-
Pyralis unionalis Hübner, 1796
-
PHALAENA vitrealis (Rossi, 1794)
= Palpita unionalis (Hubner, 1796)
= Botys quinquepunctalis Boisduval, 1833
= Margarodes transvisalis Guenée, 1854
= Margarodes septempunctalis Mabille, 1880
= Glyphodes unionalis
= Margarodes charalis
= Botys intactalis
-
Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge / errichtet von Jacob Hübner in Augsburg. By Hübner, Jacob, 1761-1826 : Lepidoptera V1 : Pyralidae 11.111 : Plates V6 - 9 : p.40 - f.132
-
Not Specified