Chocophorus alternaria
Encyclopedia
Chocophorus alternaria is a moth
of the Pterophoridae family. It is found in Argentina
, Chile
and Ecuador
.
The wingspan
is 13-21 mm. The head is scaled in pale grey and brown-grey scales. The antennae are pale grey to pale brown-grey. The thorax is pale brown-grey and the abdomen pale brown-grey, with three longitudinal brown lines on the upperside. The forewings are pale grey with indistinct pale brown-grey scaling with increasing intensity toward the base of the cleft. There are several dark brown spots and some dark brown and white scales. The fringes along the costal margin of the first lobe are alternating dark brown and pale grey. The dorsal fringes of the first lobe are grey-brown and the costal fringes of the second lobe have two alternating dark brown and grey-white patches. There are dark and light fringes along the dorsal margin in a pattern reversed to that of the costal margin. The hindwings are brown-grey on basal half, gradually turning more brown towards the termen. The fringes in all lobes near the base are grey, towards the termen they are brown.
Adults have been recorded from October to February.
The larvae feed on Echium plantagineum. They feed on the shoots and flowers.
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...
of the Pterophoridae family. It is found in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
and Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 13-21 mm. The head is scaled in pale grey and brown-grey scales. The antennae are pale grey to pale brown-grey. The thorax is pale brown-grey and the abdomen pale brown-grey, with three longitudinal brown lines on the upperside. The forewings are pale grey with indistinct pale brown-grey scaling with increasing intensity toward the base of the cleft. There are several dark brown spots and some dark brown and white scales. The fringes along the costal margin of the first lobe are alternating dark brown and pale grey. The dorsal fringes of the first lobe are grey-brown and the costal fringes of the second lobe have two alternating dark brown and grey-white patches. There are dark and light fringes along the dorsal margin in a pattern reversed to that of the costal margin. The hindwings are brown-grey on basal half, gradually turning more brown towards the termen. The fringes in all lobes near the base are grey, towards the termen they are brown.
Adults have been recorded from October to February.
The larvae feed on Echium plantagineum. They feed on the shoots and flowers.