Atteva aurea
Ailanthus Webworm Moth
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) Class Insecta (Insects) Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) No Taxon (Moths) Superfamily Yponomeutoidea Family Yponomeutidae (Ermine Moths) Subfamily Attevinae (Tropical Ermine Moths) Genus Atteva Species aurea (Ailanthus Webworm Moth - Hodges#2401) Cramer, 1781 |
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Coloration may be warning of toxins obtained by feeding on ailanthus leaves
Native to southern Florida, where larvae feed on trees of the Simaroubaceae family. With the introduction of the Tree-of-Heaven, a simarouba relative, the larvae added those trees to their larder. As the Tree-of-Heaven spread northward, the Ailanthus Webworm Moths followed.
Its previous name Ateva punctella is now exclusively assigned to a closely related moth of South and Central America.
Its previous name Ateva punctella is now exclusively assigned to a closely related moth of South and Central America.