Ailanthus webworm
Encyclopedia
The Ailanthus webworm, Atteva aurea, is an ermine moth
now found commonly in the United States
. It was formerly known under the scientific name Atteva punctella (see Taxonomy section).
The Ailanthus webworm is thought to be native to South Florida
and the American tropics (south to Costa Rica
), habitat to its original larval host plants, the Paradise Tree (Simarouba glauca
) and Simarouba amara
. Another tree called Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), originally from China, has been widely introduced and Atteva aurea has jumped to this new host plant (giving it its common name, Ailanthus webworm). The moth does not survive cold winters, but migrates north each year so it is commonly seen in summer throughout the continental US
, and occasionally eastern Canada
(its northern limit in eastern Ontario
and south-western Quebec
beyond the host range).
Larva
e produce nest
s on the host plant by pulling two to three leaflet
s around a network of loose webbing. Then they consume the leaflets. The caterpillar
s have a wide, light greenish-brown stripe down their backs and several thin, alternating white and olive-green stripes along their sides. The adult moth
visits flower
s, is diurnal, and is a pollinator
.
Ailanthus
, common-name Tree of Heaven, is considered an invasive species
, although it is still sold by nurseries as yard plant, mainly because it is one of the species that will grow in polluted
or otherwise difficult places. Atteva punctella can be a minor pest
in nurseries, although it rarely does serious damage.
species, as A. ergatica is a junior synonym and A. punctella a junior homonym. By linking the specimens to type material through morphology and DNA barcoding
, they determined that the species distributed from Costa Rica to southern Quebec and Ontario, should be called A. aurea, whereas the similar and marginally sympatric species
found in Central America should be called A. pustulella.
The name Phalaena (Tinea) punctella was recognized as a junior homonym almost immediately after its description but has been retained through several major works (Heppner and Duckworth 1983; Covell 1984; Heppner 1984). The two objective replacement names proposed were Tinea punctella (Fabricius, 1787) and Crameria subtilis (Hübner, 1822). The oldest valid name to replace Phalaena punctella is Tinea pustulella but this remained overlooked until recently (Heppner 2003). Over time seven more nominal taxa were synonymized under Atteva pustulella, being Deiopeia aurea (Fitch, 1857), Poeciloptera compta Clemens, 1861, Oeta compta floridana (Neumoegen, 1891), A. edithella (Busck, 1908), A. exquisita (Busck, 1912), A. ergatica (Walsingham, 1914) and A. microsticta (Walsingham, 1914).
There were early suspicions that A. aurea and A. pustulella might represent different species, the former distributed in the United States, the latter in South America, but at the time there was insufficient material to support this view (Walsingham 1897). A recent taxonomic review of New World Atteva (Becker 2009) introduced several nomenclatural changes and recognized three separate species within the long-standing concept of A. pustulella: A. pustulella, A. aurea and A. floridana. The most recent treatment retains A. floridana as a synonym of Atteva aurea (Wilson JJ, 2010).
Ermine moth
The family Yponomeutidae are known as the ermine moths, with several hundred species, most of them in the tropics. The larvae tend to form communal webs, and some are minor pests in agriculture, forestry, and horticulture. Some of the adults are very attractive...
now found commonly in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was formerly known under the scientific name Atteva punctella (see Taxonomy section).
The Ailanthus webworm is thought to be native to South Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and the American tropics (south to Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
), habitat to its original larval host plants, the Paradise Tree (Simarouba glauca
Simarouba glauca
Simarouba glauca is a species of flowering tree that is native to Florida in the United States, southern Mexico, Central America, and the Greater Antilles. Common names include Paradise Tree, Aceituno, and Bitterwood. Its seeds produce an edible oil. The tree is well suited for warm, humid,...
) and Simarouba amara
Simarouba amara
Simarouba amara is a species of tree in the Simaroubaceae family, found in the rainforests and savannahs of South and Central America and the Caribbean. It was first described by Aublet in French Guiana in 1775 and is one of six species of Simarouba. The tree is evergreen, but produces a new set of...
. Another tree called Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), originally from China, has been widely introduced and Atteva aurea has jumped to this new host plant (giving it its common name, Ailanthus webworm). The moth does not survive cold winters, but migrates north each year so it is commonly seen in summer throughout the continental US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and occasionally eastern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(its northern limit in eastern Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and south-western Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
beyond the host range).
Larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e produce nest
Nest
A nest is a place of refuge to hold an animal's eggs or provide a place to live or raise offspring. They are usually made of some organic material such as twigs, grass, and leaves; or may simply be a depression in the ground, or a hole in a tree, rock or building...
s on the host plant by pulling two to three leaflet
Leaflet
A leaflet in botany is a part of a compound leaf. A leaflet may resemble an entire leaf, but it is not borne on a stem as a leaf is, but rather on a vein of the whole leaf. Compound leaves are common in many plant families...
s around a network of loose webbing. Then they consume the leaflets. The caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s have a wide, light greenish-brown stripe down their backs and several thin, alternating white and olive-green stripes along their sides. The adult moth
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...
visits flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s, is diurnal, and is a pollinator
Pollinator
A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain...
.
Ailanthus
Ailanthus
Ailanthus is a genus of trees belonging to the family Simaroubaceae, in the order Sapindales . The genus is native from east Asia south to northern Australasia....
, common-name Tree of Heaven, is considered an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
, although it is still sold by nurseries as yard plant, mainly because it is one of the species that will grow in polluted
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
or otherwise difficult places. Atteva punctella can be a minor pest
Pest (animal)
A pest is an animal which is detrimental to humans or human concerns. It is a loosely defined term, often overlapping with the related terms vermin, weeds, parasites and pathogens...
in nurseries, although it rarely does serious damage.
Taxonomy
Wilson JJ et al. discovered that morphologically similar yponomeutid moths were assigned two different names, Atteva ergatica in Costa Rica and Atteva punctella in North America, but had identical DNA barcodes. Combining DNA barcoding, morphology and food plant records also revealed a complex of two sympatric species that are diagnosable by their DNA barcodes and their facies in Costa Rica. However, neither of the names could be correctly applied to eitherspecies, as A. ergatica is a junior synonym and A. punctella a junior homonym. By linking the specimens to type material through morphology and DNA barcoding
DNA barcoding
DNA barcoding is a taxonomic method that uses a short genetic marker in an organism's DNA to identify it as belonging to a particular species. It differs from molecular phylogeny in that the main goal is not to determine classification but to identify an unknown sample in terms of a known...
, they determined that the species distributed from Costa Rica to southern Quebec and Ontario, should be called A. aurea, whereas the similar and marginally sympatric species
Sympatry
In biology, two species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus regularly encounter one another. An initially-interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sharing a common range exemplifies sympatric speciation...
found in Central America should be called A. pustulella.
The name Phalaena (Tinea) punctella was recognized as a junior homonym almost immediately after its description but has been retained through several major works (Heppner and Duckworth 1983; Covell 1984; Heppner 1984). The two objective replacement names proposed were Tinea punctella (Fabricius, 1787) and Crameria subtilis (Hübner, 1822). The oldest valid name to replace Phalaena punctella is Tinea pustulella but this remained overlooked until recently (Heppner 2003). Over time seven more nominal taxa were synonymized under Atteva pustulella, being Deiopeia aurea (Fitch, 1857), Poeciloptera compta Clemens, 1861, Oeta compta floridana (Neumoegen, 1891), A. edithella (Busck, 1908), A. exquisita (Busck, 1912), A. ergatica (Walsingham, 1914) and A. microsticta (Walsingham, 1914).
There were early suspicions that A. aurea and A. pustulella might represent different species, the former distributed in the United States, the latter in South America, but at the time there was insufficient material to support this view (Walsingham 1897). A recent taxonomic review of New World Atteva (Becker 2009) introduced several nomenclatural changes and recognized three separate species within the long-standing concept of A. pustulella: A. pustulella, A. aurea and A. floridana. The most recent treatment retains A. floridana as a synonym of Atteva aurea (Wilson JJ, 2010).