''Galtara extensa'' is a

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, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

of the subfamily

Arctiinae The Arctiinae (formerly called the family Arctiidae) are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species.Scoble, MJ. (1995). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and D ...

first described by

Arthur Gardiner Butler Arthur Gardiner Butler F.L.S., F.Z.S. (27 June 1844 – 28 May 1925) was an English entomologist, arachnologist and ornithologist. He worked at the British Museum on the taxonomy of birds, insects, and spiders. Biography Arthur Gardiner B ...

in 1880. It is found on the

Comoros The Comoros, officially the Union of the Comoros, is an archipelagic country made up of three islands in Southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Moroni, ...

and in

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

Biology

The eggs of this species have a diameter of 0.8 mm and are 0.75 mm in height (dome shaped). They are of cream to white colour when deposited and turn black on the day before hatching. They are laid singly or in batches on the underside of leaves. The duration of eggs is 5–6 days. The larvae feed at night. Their head is smooth and their body is covered with dark, plumose setae (feathery hairs). At maturity they reach a size of 26.4 mm. Pupae is about half the length of the larvae, and the pupal stage is 11–12 days. Adults of this moth are mostly of mottled shades of grey with white and with black spotting on the forewings. The whole life span of this moths is about 41 days, producing up to nine generation in a year under laboratory conditions. The larvae of this moths feed on fireweed (''

Senecio madagascariensis ''Senecio madagascariensis'', also known as Madagascar ragwort, is a species of the genus ''Senecio'' and family Asteraceae that is native to Southern Africa. Other common names include Madagascar groundsel and fireweed. It has been included on ...

'' an

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

), a plant also native to

that has been introduced to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, where it has become an invasive pest. To a lesser extent they also feed on ''

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'' ...

'', ''

Senecio vulgaris ''Senecio vulgaris'', often known by the common names groundsel and old-man-in-the-spring, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is an annual plant, annual herbaceous plant, herb, native to the Palaearctic and widely naturalised as a ...

'', '' Crassocephalum crepidioides'', ''

Emilia fosbergii ''Emilia fosbergii'' is a species of plant in the Asteraceae, sunflower family. It is commonly known in the United States as Florida tasselflower. Taxonomy ''Emilia fosbergii'' has been collected in many places for many years, the specimens rega ...

'', ''

Erechtites hieracifolia ''Erechtites hieraciifolius'' (fireweed, American burnweed, or pilewort) is a plant in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It is native to the Americas, but is found many places around the world having been introduced by human activity. such as in Hawa ...

'' and ''

Helianthus annuus The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pro ...

'' (sunflowers).

Biological control

In December 2012 the United States Department of Agriculture approved the release of ''Galtara extensa'' in Hawaii to combat the spread of fireweed."State to release 'Madagascar' moth to feed on toxic weed"
''Hawaii News Now''.

References

*Butler. (1880). "On a collection of Lepidoptera from Madagascar with descriptions of new genera and species". ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History''. (5)5: 333–344, 384–395. Nyctemerina Moths described in 1880 Moths of Madagascar Lepidoptera used as pest control agents Insects used for control of invasive plants {{Nyctemerina-stub