Targalla delatrix
Encyclopedia
The Eugenia Caterpillar (Targalla delatrix) is a moth
of the Noctuidae
family. It is widespread in the Indo-Australian tropics to Fiji
. It has also been recorded from Rapa Iti
, the Society Islands
and Hawaii
.
Adults are brown with a subtle pattern on the forewings.
The larvae feed on Eugenia uniflora. The larvae have a red-orange head, marked with clusters of yellow dots interveined with darker red. The body is translucent, greenish rose pink. The larva is sluggish, sitting outstretched on the undersides of young leaves of the host-plant. Pupation takes place in the surface of the soil in a strong cocoon which incorporates leaf litter.
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 Noctuidae
Noctuidae
The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly-built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera. They constitute the largest family in the Lepidoptera....
family. It is widespread in the Indo-Australian tropics to Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
. It has also been recorded from Rapa Iti
Rapa Iti
Rapa or Rapa Iti as it is sometimes called in more recent years , is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands in French Polynesia. An older name for the island is Oparo Its area is 40 km2 with a population of almost 500 and a max elevation of 650 m...
, the Society Islands
Society Islands
The Society Islands are a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean. They are politically part of French Polynesia. The archipelago is generally believed to have been named by Captain James Cook in honor of the Royal Society, the sponsor of the first British scientific survey of the islands;...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
.
Adults are brown with a subtle pattern on the forewings.
The larvae feed on Eugenia uniflora. The larvae have a red-orange head, marked with clusters of yellow dots interveined with darker red. The body is translucent, greenish rose pink. The larva is sluggish, sitting outstretched on the undersides of young leaves of the host-plant. Pupation takes place in the surface of the soil in a strong cocoon which incorporates leaf litter.