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Piletocera fluctualis

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Male and female	41KB
Image:	Mating	80KB

General Information

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: Cook Islands - French Polynesia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, Endemic of se.Polynesia; Land

KEY FEATURES: Small day-active moth (8mmTL). Female dark brown with 2 main white spots and light banding; male grey-brown, with obscure pale markings, but with distinctive bulges near antennae-base, and bulge on front edge of forewing. Active day and night.

Enlarged Image of 'Piletocera fluctualis'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++++		P			P

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
	+++		+++

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Piletocera fluctualis Fabricius
SYNONYMS: Piletocera fluctualis [of JD for BESO ,99]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; ATELOCERATA; HEXAPODA; INSECTA; PTERYGOTA; Lepidoptera; CRAMBIDAE

More Information

IDENTIFICATION: Small day-active moth (8mmTL). Female dark brown with 2 main white spots and light banding; male grey-brown, with obscure pale markings, but with distinctive bulges near antennae-base, and bulge on front edge of forewing. Active day and night. In fresh specimens forewings dark brown, lighter at base; 2 white cell spots, underneath each is a short buff line and beyond, a buff wavy line edged in black. Hind wings dark brown; single white spot; wavy buff broken lines continue. Underside similar to upper surface; number of paler specimens have indistinct markings; white cell spots, with dark patch between, always present. Light form may prove to be separate species. Head, Thorax, Abdomen and Legs brown. Antenna in male with a distinct angulation (kink) at half length

GENERAL NOTE: Biology: Not known, caterpillars possibly feeding on dead leaves. Adults are always abundant and are day-active as well as nocturnal.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: BESO99, specimen #181, 191, 192, 704, 715, ID J.Dugdale as Piletocera signiferalis 4/2000, re-ID BrMus as Piletocera fluctualis Fabricius. Manihiki: fieldspecimen+photo, 1/2004, GM with ID as Piletocera signiferalis female. Pukapuka: specimen+photo, 1/2004, GM with ID as Piletocera signiferalis female, and fieldspecimen male.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM04a, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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