Palpita vitrealis

Palpita vitrealis
Moth of Palpita vitrealis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Crambidae
Genus:	Palpita
Species:	P. vitrealis
Binomial name
Palpita vitrealis (Rossi, 1794)
Synonyms123
List Palpita unionalis (Hübner, 1796) Botys jucundalis Lederer, 1863 Botys quinquepunctalis Boisduval, 1833 Margarodes septempunctalis Mabille, 1880 Margarodes transvisalis Guenée, 1854 Orphanostigma versicolor Warren, 1896 Phalaena vitrealis Rossi, 1794 Pyralis unionalis Hübner, 1796 Syngamia latimarginalis (Walker, 1859)

Palpita vitrealis, common name jasmine moth or white pearl, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae.

This species occurs worldwide, including Africa (Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Kenya, Sierra Leone, South Africa),²Asia, Australia and Europe.⁴ In Europe, it is mainly found in southern Europe, but may be found further north.³⁵

The wingspan of Palpita vitrealis can reach 27–31 mm. The body and the wings are translucent with a slight sheen. Eyes are large and reddish-brown. On the upper edge of the forewings is present a rather broad orange or brown border. The forewings also show two black spots in the middle. Legs are white and brown ringed.⁶

These moths mainly fly from August till late October, depending on the location. They feed on nectar of various flowers, including ivy and buddleia.⁶⁷ This species shows a migratory nature. The larvae are initially yellow, later becoming green. They can grow to a length of about 2 cms. They feed on the leaves of the host plants, mainly jasmine (Jasminum officinale), privet (Ligustrum species), Forsythia, Arbutus unedo and european olive (Olea europaea).⁷ In Africa the preferred host plants are Sida rhombifolia, Grewia, Helicteres isora, Schima noronhae and Randia scortechinii.² The larvae are considered a pest of olive fields, as they attack the leaves and fruits. The final instar of the larvae spins some leaves together and form a silky cocoon to pupate.⁵