species 51 observations

Eastern Cactus-boring Moth

Melitara prodenialis

Field notes

Melitara prodenialis is a moth of the family Pyralidae described by Francis Walker in 1863. It is native to North America, where it is known from south-eastern New York to Florida along the Atlantic coastal plain, and west to eastern Oklahoma and north-central and south-eastern Texas. It is an introduced species in Hawaii. It is a special concern species in Connecticut.

There are two generations per year throughout most of its range, but three generations in Florida. Adults are on wing from June to July and from September to October in Arkansas.

The larvae feed on Opuntia cladodes.

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28 native plants
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Range

United States

Greener is more native, amber more introduced; paler is less certain. How this was decided