''Paysandisia archon'' is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Castniidae Castniidae, or castniid moths, is a small family of moths with fewer than 200 species: The majority are Neotropical with some in Australia and a few in south-east Asia. These are medium-sized to very large moths, usually with drab, cryptically-ma ...

. It is native to

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and central

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

and has been accidentally introduced to Europe, where it is spreading rapidly. It is considered the only member of the genus ''Paysandisia''. German naturalist

Hermann Burmeister Karl Hermann Konrad Burmeister (also known as Carlos Germán Conrado Burmeister) (15 January 1807 – 2 May 1892) was a German Argentine zoologist, entomologist, herpetologist, botanist, and coleopterologist. He served as a professor at the Uni ...

described the species in 1879 as ''Castnia archon''. This is a very large moth with a wingspan of 90–110 mm. The forewings are dark green with brown streaking, the hindwings are bright red with bold black and white markings. The females, generally larger than the males, are easily recognized by the prominent

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

. Like other castniids, this species flies by day and has clubbed antennae and is easily mistaken for a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...

. The adults fly from June to September. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) 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. ...

is whitish and

maggot A maggot is the larva of a fly (order Diptera); it is applied in particular to the larvae of Brachycera flies, such as houseflies, cheese flies, and blowflies, rather than larvae of the Nematocera, such as mosquitoes and crane flies. En ...

-like and feeds in the stems and trunks of palms (see list below for recorded food plants). In its natural range, the damage done by the larvae is unobtrusive and the species is not considered a pest but the species is causing increasing concern in Europe because of the sometimes fatal damage being caused to native and exotic palms. The species

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

tes in a cocoon incorporating palm fibres within the larval gallery.

Invasive species

Since arriving in the

Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', A ...

in the mid-1990s (probably in mature specimens of ''

Trithrinax ''Trithrinax'' is a genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Coryphoideae of the family Arecaceae. The name is derived from ancient Greek, where ''tri'' means three, and ''thrinax'' trident. It was named in 1837 by Carl Friedrich Philipp von Ma ...

'' from Argentina), it has spread along the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

coast to parts of Spain, Italy, Greece and CyprusResearch Gate: First report of the palm borer Paysandisia archon (Burmeister 1880) (Lepidoptera: Castniidae) in Cyprus
/ref> and it is feared that without effective control, it could spread to areas where palms grow throughout the region. (It is absent from

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...

but global warming may make it suitable habitat in 2020–2039.) One has also been reported from England, in

West Sussex West Sussex is a county in South East England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the shire districts of Adur, Arun, Chichester, Horsham, and Mid Sussex, and the boroughs of Crawley and Worthing. Covering an ...

in 2002 and 2009 in Northern Ireland. Both UK introductions were eradicated. A survey shows it is absent from the Netherlands. The species was first reported on Russia's Black Sea coast in 2014, and by 2016 had been implicated in the death of over 200 palm trees in

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Со́чи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg) is the largest resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi River, along the Black Sea in Southern Russia, with a population of 466,078 residents, up to 600,000 residents i ...

Recorded food plants

Natural range

*''

Trithrinax campestris ''Trithrinax campestris'', the caranday palm, is a South American palm tree native of Uruguayan and northeastern Argentine sabanas, where it shares its habitat with '' Copernicia alba'' among others and extends also to the summits of mountain ran ...

Introduced range

*'' Chamaerops'' *'' Livistona'' spp., including: **'' L. chinensis'' **'' L. decipiens'' **'' L. saribus'' *''

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

'' spp., including: **'' P. canariensis'' **'' P. dactylifera'' **'' P. reclinata'' *''

Sabal ''Sabal'' is a genus of palms (or fan-palms) endemic to the New World. Currently, there are 17 recognized species of ''Sabal'', including one hybrid species. The species are native to the subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, from th ...

'' *''

Trachycarpus fortunei ''Trachycarpus fortunei'', the Chinese windmill palm, windmill palm or Chusan palm, is a species of hardy evergreen palm tree in the family Arecaceae, native to parts of China, Japan, Myanmar and India. Description Growing to tall, ''Trachyca ...

'' *''

Washingtonia ''Washingtonia'' is a genus of palms, native to the southwestern United States (in southern California, and southwest Arizona) and northwest Mexico (in Baja California and Sonora). Both ''Washingtonia'' species are commonly cultivated across t ...

'' spp., including: **'' W. filifera''

Gallery

File:Paysandisia Archon 2-20130730.jpg, Habitat File:Larva Paysandisia archon.png, Larva (80 mm) of ''Paysandisia archon'' in its gallery File:Paysandisia archon MHNT Caterpillar Fronton.jpg, Larva File:Cocon de P. archon.JPG, Cocoon File:Nymphe de P. archon.JPG, Pupa File:Dégats des larves de Papillon Paysandisia archon sur les palmiers.jpg, Damage on palm trees by ''Paysandisia archon'' larvae File:Palm moth, August 2020, France.jpg, ''Paysandisia archon'' in South West France

Notes

References

Palm Threat in France? (Inra)
*EPPO Quarantine Alert

*https://web.archive.org/web/20180408043255/http://www.lepido-france.fr/pdf/BLP_n_22_merit_paysandisia_archon.pdf
Blog Paysendisia Archon - Barrenador palmeras

External links

Fauna EuropaeaLepiforum.de
{{Taxonbar, from=Q140386 Castniidae Insect pests of ornamental plants Moths described in 1880 Moths of Europe Taxa named by Hermann Burmeister