Paysandisia archon

TaxID: 753395

Basic Information

Paysandisia archon

Palm Borer Moth, Palm Moth

Paysandisia archon is a moth of the family Castniidae. It is native to Uruguay and central Argentina and has been accidentally introduced to Europe, where it is spreading rapidly. It is considered the only member of the genus Paysandisia. German naturalist Hermann Burmeister described the species in 1879 as Castnia archon. This is a very large moth with a wingspan of 90 C110 mm. The forewings are dark green with brown streaking, the hindwings are bright red with bold black and white markings. The females, generally larger than the males, are easily recognized by the prominent ovipositor. Like other castniids, this species flies by day and has clubbed antennae and is easily mistaken for a butterfly. The adults fly from June to September. The larva is whitish and maggot-like and feeds in the stems and trunks of palms (see list below for recorded food plants). In its natural range, the damage done by the larvae is unobtrusive and the species is not considered a pest but the species is causing increasing concern in Europe because of the sometimes fatal damage being caused to native and exotic palms. The species pupates in a cocoon incorporating palm fibres within the larval gallery.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Metazoa

Arthropoda

Insecta

Lepidoptera

Castniidae

Paysandisia

archon

unclassified

Photos (5 photos)

Paysandisia archon
c
(c) RuB@BY-SA
Paysandisia archon
c
(c) Laurent Barthe@BY-NC
Paysandisia archon
c
(c) WikiRigaou@BY-SA
Paysandisia archon
c
(c) Dino Biancolini@BY-NC
Paysandisia archon
c
(c) Didier Descouens@BY-SA

Morphological Features

No morphological description available.

Host Plants (35 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

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Quarantine Status (41 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Austria PZ Quarantine pest ((EU) 2019/2072 Annex III) 2019
Belgium PZ Quarantine pest ((EU) 2019/2072 Annex III) 2019
Bulgaria PZ Quarantine pest ((EU) 2019/2072 Annex III) 2019
Chile Quarantine pests 2019
Cyprus PZ Quarantine pest ((EU) 2019/2072 Annex III) 2019
Czechia PZ Quarantine pest ((EU) 2019/2072 Annex III) 2019
Germany PZ Quarantine pest ((EU) 2019/2072 Annex III) 2019
Denmark PZ Quarantine pest ((EU) 2019/2072 Annex III) 2019
Ecuador Quarantine pests —
EPPO A2 Present —
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Distribution (30 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

20
Present
10
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Albania Present —
Argentina Present —
Austria Absent —
Belgium Absent —
Bulgaria Present —
Bolivia (Plurinational State of) Absent —
Brazil Present
Switzerland Present —
Cyprus Present —
Czechia Absent —
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Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

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Genomes (0 records)

Data source: NCBI.

No genome records available.

Transcriptomes (0 records)

Data source: NCBI.

No transcriptome records available.

DNA Barcodes (0 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

No DNA barcode records available.

Literature