1. Lebendfotos

2. Biologie

2.1. Nahrung der Raupe

[Nyctaginaceae:] Oxybaphus nyctagineus [= Mirabilis nyctaginea] (Regenschirmkraut)

Gibson (1914: 423) erklärt: "Among some micros collected at Aweme, Man., by Mr. Norman Criddle, Field Officer of the Dominion Entomological Service, are two specimens of a species of Heliodines, of the family Elachistidae, which is undescribed. The specimens were reared by Mr. Criddle from larvae found feeding on Oxybaphus nyctagineus, a widely occurring representative of the Nyctaginaceae in Canada. I therefore propose the name: Heliodines nyctaginella, sp. nov.". Diese Pflanze wurde später noch mehrfach als Eiablagepflanze oder Raupennahrung bestätigt.

Hsu & Powell (2005: 42) schreiben: "The larval biology of the species has been reported in detail by Wester (1956) and recently by Harrison and Passoa (1995) and is summarized as follows. The host plant is Mirabilis nyctaginea (Michx.) in Illinois. The larva is an upper side leaf skeletonizer that sometimes feeds on flower buds. The first instar feeds without a web on the upper side or under side of leaves, depending on where eggs were laid. Later instars construct a web under which they feed. Pupation occurs on the ground, and overwintering occurs in the pupal stage."

Wester (1956) hatte erklärt: "In the years 1947 through 1953, I investigated the life histories of a number of insects found associated with the wild four-o’clock plant, Mirabilis nyctaginea (Michaux) MacMillan, in central Ilinois. Below I present, in a comparative way, the main results of my studies on the taxonomic and bionomic differences between two congeneric micromoths, Heliodines nyctaginella Gibson, whose larva feeds on the leaves of M. nyctaginea, and Heliodines ionis Clarke, which develops as a borer in the stalks of W. nyctaginea." Für N. nyctaginella geht er von 5 Generationen pro Jahr au, für Embola ionis nur von 3. Er schreibt: "The eggs of both species are oval in form, and are approximately the same in size. Those of nyctaginella are pale lemon yellow in color, and the chorion is deeply punctate, The eggs of ionis are a pale salmon color, and the chorion is sculptured with a reticular pattern. H. nyctaginella lays its eggs on the petiole of the leaf, the underside of the blade along the midrib, or on the upperside of the blade near the base. H. ionis lays its eggs on the axillary bud that grows in the axil of each leaf. The eges of nyctaginella hatch in about three days, while those of ionis hatch in about four days." Und später zur Raupe: "The larvae of nyctaginella are leaf-skeletonizers, and feed on the mesophyll of the leaves of the wild four-o’cloeck plant, but do not eat the veins. They also feed on the flower buds when these are present. The larvae of each stadium, except the first, construct webs under which they feed. The webs made on the bud-elusters are quite shapeless in form, and are found between the involucres. Those made on the leaves are thin sheets of silken meshwork stretched across the depression on the upper side of the leaves formed by the angle of the blades at the midribs. Each web is attached at all points on the leaf surface except at the petiole, where there is an opening through which the larva leaves the web after it has consumed nearly all the plant tissue under the web."

(Autor: Erwin Rennwald)

3. Weitere Informationen

3.1. Andere Kombinationen

Heliodines nyctaginella Gibson, 1914 [Originalkombination]

3.2. Taxonomie und Faunistik

Gibson (1914) beschrieb seine Art aus Aweme in Manitoba (USA). Und er machte sich Gedanken darüber, ob sie in der Gattung Heliodines gut untergebracht wäre oder nicht: "As to the placing of the species in the genus Heliodines, Mr. Busck, who kindly examined the specimens, states that "the species may be described as Heliodines, though differing from the type of this genus H. roesella Linn., of Europe, in having the apical veins in forewings separate, not stalked. In this character the species agrees with the closely allied genera Lamprolophus Busck, and Embola Walsm., but both of these have pectinated posterior tibiae and this character has probably more weight in this group than the slight difference in the venation.""

Hsu in Hsu & Powell (2005: 38-40) stellte dann für diese und acht weitere Arten die Gattung Neoheliodines auf. Außer von Manitoba wird hier auch Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio und Wisconsin als Vorkommensgebiet angeführt.

3.3. Typenmaterial

Gibson (1914: 423) vermerkt: Aweme, Man., July, 1913 (Norman Criddle). Type deposited in collection of Entomological Branch, Department of Agriculture, Ottawa; paratype deposited in U.S. National Museum, Washington." Hsu in Hsu & Powell (2005: 41) schrieb dazu: "Holotype: ♂: CANADA: MANITOBA: Aweme, bred from Oxybaphus nyctagineus [= Mirabilis nyctaginea], 9.VII.1913 (N. Criddle, CNC Type No. 1126). PARATYPES EXAMINED: CANADA: MANITOBA: 3 ♂, 1 ♀, Aweme, 9.VII.1913 (N. Criddle, USNM, CNC)."