GELECHIID MOTH

any member of the large, cosmopolitan insect family Gelechiidae (order Lepidoptera), containing more than 3,700 described species of moths, including several important pests. The brown adults have gray or silver markings and average 19 mm (3/4 inch) in wingspan. The hindwings have somewhat concave outer margins and pointed tips, in contrast with the regular, narrow forewings. The larval habits of gelechiid moths vary; larvae may mine or bore in plants, spin webs, form galls, or roll leaves. They are pale and naked and pupate within silken cocoons. The whitish larvae of the Angoumois grain moth (Sitotroga cerealella) attack stored and growing grains, hollowing out the insides of kernels. The gray-coloured adult has blackish spots and a wing span of about 12 mm (about 1/2 inch). The pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella), deemed one of the most destructive insects, is a serious cotton pest. Though probably native to India, it is now distributed worldwide. It bores into cotton bolls, devouring blossoms and seeds. The pinkish-coloured bollworm generally pupates in a cocoon inside a boll or seed, in trash, or underground. The brown adult has fringed wings. In warm climates several generations occur annually. The potato tuberworm (Gnorimoschema operculella) attacks potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, and related plants, boring into tubers, burrowing in stems, and mining leaves. Pupation occurs in silken, dirt-covered cocoons, often found in rubbish. The adults are a dark mottled grayish brown. The peach twig borer (Anarsia lineatella) attacks fruit trees. Less destructive gelechiid pests include the tomato pinworm (Keiferia lycopersicella) and the strawberry crown miner (Aristotelia fragariae). Several Gnorimoschema species produce galls in goldenrod stems, and many Recurvaria species mine leaves and pine needles.