''Digitivalva delaireae'' is a moth of the family

Acrolepiidae The Acrolepiidae are a family of moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, p ...

that is endemic to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is a potential

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or o ...

agent for ''

Delairea odorata ''Delairea odorata'' is a vine, climber within the family Asteraceae that is native to South Africa. One of the two species in the genus ''Delairea'' (the other being ''Delairea aparadensis''), it was previously included in the genus ''Senecio'' ...

'', the larval host plant. Mehelis ''et al.'', 2015 test the moth's food preferences and find a strong preference for ''D.odorata'' and against any vulnerable native plants in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, making this a good biocontrol especially for those areas.

References

Acrolepiidae Moths described in 2002 Endemic moths of South Africa {{Yponomeutoidea-stub