Odontestra speyeri (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874)

Mbata, Keith J. & Prins, Jurate De, 2023, Annotated checklist of moths of Zambia (Insecta: Lepidoptera), Zootaxa 5354 (1), pp. 1-503 : 410-411

Odontestra speyeri (Felder & Rogenhofer, 1874)

COMMON NAME (S): Owlet Moth, Underwing or Noctuid moth.

SYNONYM(S): Brithysana africana Laporte, 1973b .

IUCN STATUS: Not Evaluated (NE).

DISTRIBUTION: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

LOCALITY IN ZAMBIA: Livingstone, in Southern Province. LARVAL HOSTPLANT(S): According to Pinhey (1975), larval foodplants for the taxon include Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. ( Fabaceae ), Gerbera jamesoni Bolus ex Hook.f. (Asteraceae) , Cupressus lusitanica Mill. (Cupressaceae) ,

Papaver nudicaule L. ( Papaveraceae ), Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus (L.) Domin ( Brassicaceae ),

Rhoicissus sp. (Vitaceae) , Rumex sp. (Polygonaceae) , Rhoicissus digitata Gilg & M.Brandt (Vitaceae) ,

Pinus radiata D.Don (Pinaceae) and Hypochaeris radicata L. ( Asteraceae ). Austara & Jones (1971) also reported that in Kenya , an Acacia species (Fabaceae), Cupressus lusitanica Mill. (Cupressaceae) and

Pinus radiata D.Don (Pinaceae) host the taxon. No specific larval foodplants have been named for the taxon for Zambia.

SOURCES: African Moths 2019; Austara & Jones 1971; De Prins & De Prins 2022; Pinhey 1975.