Tucumania tapiacola Dyar
Synonymy and Types
Tucumania tapiacola Dyar, 1925, Ins. Insc. Menstr. 13: 225. Holotype, male, in U.S. National Museum, by original designation.
Diagnosis
Adult
This species can be differentiated from its congener, T. porrecta, by the dark grayish brown forewings and a wing expanse of 30 mm or less (Heinrich, 1939).
Larva
Body purplish or wine colored with pinacula large and dark brown; abdominal segments VII and VIII with two SV setae.
Distribution
This species is native to Argentina; introduced into Australia and South Africa.
Life History and Larval Hosts
Eggs are laid singly, and larvae are solitary feeders on O. aurantiaca and O. discolor (Heinrich, 1939; Dodd, 1940). The species was introduced into Australia in 1934 for biological control of O. aurantiaca, but with little effect on controlling this introduced species of Opuntia. (Dodd, 1940).