Abantiades latipennis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Abantiades latipennis |
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| Scientific classification | |
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Abantiades
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| Species: |
latipennis
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The Abantiades latipennis, also known as the Pindi moth, is a type of moth found only in Australia. It's sometimes called a swift moth or a ghost moth, which are common names for moths in its family, Hepialidae. This moth was first identified in 1932.
You'll mostly find Pindi moths in temperate rainforests. They like areas where eucalyptus trees grow a lot. This is because the young moths, called larvae, mainly feed on the roots of these trees. Female moths lay their eggs by scattering them during flight. The larvae live underground for over eighteen months. However, adult moths only live for about a week. They don't have mouthparts to eat, so they rely on energy stored from their time as larvae. Bats and owls are some of the main animals that hunt and eat these moths.
Pindi moths are usually brown. Male moths are often paler in color. The silver bars on the male's wings are brighter and have darker edges compared to the female's. Adult males are also generally smaller than females.
Scientists have found that certain logging methods, like clearfelling (cutting down all trees in an area), can actually help the Pindi moth population grow. If too many Pindi moths appear, they could become a pest. This is because they can cause significant damage to the eucalyptus trees they feed on.
Contents
About the Pindi Moth
Discovery and Naming
The Abantiades latipennis is one of fourteen species in the Abantiades group. All these species are found only in Australia. Norman Tindale, an Australian scientist who studied insects and people, first described this moth in 1932. He gave it its current name, but didn't explain why he chose "latipennis."
Tindale described the species using moths he found in different places. These included Lorne, Pomonal, and Mount Mistake in Victoria. He also found specimens in Zeehan, Eaglehawk Neck, and Launceston in Tasmania.
Where They Live
The Pindi moth lives only in the Australasian region. You can find them in New South Wales, Tasmania, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. Like other Abantiades moths, they live in temperate rainforests. This includes both old, natural forests and forests that have grown back after being cut down.
When the moths are larvae, they eat the roots of trees. Their success can affect the timber industry, which uses trees for wood.
Life Cycle and Habits
Laying Eggs and Larval Stage
Female Pindi moths lay their eggs by dropping them while flying. They can release up to 10,000 eggs at once! The tiny larvae hatch from these eggs in the leaf litter on the forest floor. They then start digging tunnels to find tree roots to eat.
We don't know exactly how many times the larvae shed their skin (called instars) or how long they stay as larvae. But observations suggest they live as larvae for more than eighteen months.
The larvae of the Pindi moth mainly eat the roots of two types of eucalyptus trees: Eucalyptus obliqua (messmate stringybark) and Eucalyptus regnans (mountain ash). These trees are common in both old forests and new forests that have grown back. This helps the moth succeed in its habitat.
The caterpillars dig simple, straight tunnels lined with silk. They live underground before and during their pupa stage, when they change into adult moths. The entrances to their tunnels are 6 to 10 millimeters wide. They are covered with silk and leaf litter. These tunnels can be up to 60 centimeters deep, but are usually 12 to 35 centimeters deep.
How Larvae Feed
The caterpillars chew on the main and side roots of trees. They eat the new growth that the tree makes at the injured spot. Sometimes, the larvae can chew all the way around a root, which can kill it. Other times, they only damage part of the root. This allows the root to keep working, but it might grow in a strange shape.
Living underground usually protects the larvae from being eaten. However, they can sometimes be attacked by tachina flies. The larvae of a tachina fly called Rutilotrixa diversa have been found infecting Pindi moth larvae. These flies usually infect scarab beetles.
Adult Moths
Adult Pindi moths are active around dawn and dusk. Male moths are strongly attracted to lights. They gather in groups at dusk, especially after it rains in autumn and late summer. Female moths release special scents called pheromones to attract males for mating.
As adult moths, they do not have mouthparts and cannot eat. Because of this, their life as a winged moth is very short, lasting about a week. They can also be eaten by predators like bats, owls, and possums. Other animals, from spiders to cats, sometimes eat them too, which also shortens their lives.
Impact on Forests
Thriving in Regrowth Forests
A study in Tasmania looked at how cutting down all trees (clearfelling) affects different species. It found that the Pindi moth was one of the few species that did very well in forests that grew back after clearfelling. Earlier studies in southern Tasmania found the same thing.
The Pindi moth larvae's habit of tunneling and feeding on the roots of Eucalyptus regnans and E. obliqua is a big reason they are so common in clearfelled forests. These trees are typical for areas that have been logged and are growing back. The caterpillars also don't rely on decaying plants, which helps them survive better than some other moth types in clearfelled areas.
Effects on Trees
Trees infected by Pindi moths usually look healthy. Most trees studied appeared normal in size for a forest that is growing back. E. regnans and E. obliqua have shown slow growth in these regrowth areas. However, this slow growth is usually due to many trees competing for roots and sunlight.
Some trees looked yellow (called chlorotic), which means they have less green color. But this wasn't a sure sign of root damage from the moths. It could be caused by other things. If clearfelling continues to help the Pindi moth population grow, it could lead to a lot of damage to eucalyptus trees. This might make them a pest, but we don't know how big this problem could become yet.
When the larvae leave the roots to change into adult moths, the feeding damage they caused can become a place for fungi to grow. Fungi like Armillaria species have been found growing in these damaged spots. In some rare cases, another harmful fungus called Perenniporia medulla-panis was also found attacking the damaged roots. Other signs of decay and discoloration were seen, but these were caused by tiny living things that haven't been identified yet.
How to Identify Pindi Moths
Larvae Appearance
Pindi moth larvae change in size and color as they grow. They can be grouped into small and large sizes. Small caterpillars are usually about 12 millimeters long. They are a milky grey color with a light brown head that is about 3 millimeters wide. Large caterpillars can be milky grey or a dark green-brown. They are 60 to 90 millimeters long, with a brown head that is 6 to 9 millimeters wide.
Adult Moth Appearance
Female Pindi moths are larger than males. An adult male's wingspan is usually about 80 millimeters. A female moth collected in 1979 had a wingspan of 108 millimeters. However, Tindale recorded female wingspans as large as 150 millimeters in 1932.
Both male and female moths have silvery-white bars on their front wings. But the bars on the male's wings are brighter and have dark edges. The female's body is usually a darker brown than the male's pale brown. However, a grey-brown female was collected in 1979.
Hepialidae moths have short, comb-like antennae. Unlike many other moths, they don't have a working mouthpart (called a proboscis) and cannot feed as adults. They also have other features that show they are an older type of moth. For example, there's a clear gap between their front and back wings. Their wings are covered in scale-like hairs. At the base of the front wing, there's a small flap called a jugum. This flap helps connect the front and back wings during flight.
Images for kids
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An adult Pindi moth, possibly a female, photographed in Austins Ferry, Tasmania
