Sphenarches caffer
Encyclopedia
The Bottle Gourd Plume Moth (Sphenarches caffer) is a moth
of the Pterophoridae family. It is known from India
, Malaysia, Mauritius
, the Seychelles
and South Africa
.
The larvae feed on the leaves, flowers and fruits of various plants, including sweet potato. They are small, cylindrical and yellowish green with short spines all over their bodies.
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 known from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Malaysia, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
The larvae feed on the leaves, flowers and fruits of various plants, including sweet potato. They are small, cylindrical and yellowish green with short spines all over their bodies.