Ategumia


Ategumia is a genus of moths in the species-rich subfamily Spilomelinae of the family Crambidae.

Distribution

Although the majority of species placed in this genus are distributed in the Americas, three species are described from the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, namely A. adipalis, A. fatualis and A. geographicalis.

Larval hostplants

The caterpillars of Ategumia are, as far as known, herbivores. Known hostplants are all in the Melastomataceae family: Melastoma malabathricum, M. "deficidum", Miconia crenata and M. umbellata. Ategumia adipalis, A. ebulealis and A. fatualis were introduced to Hawaii for biological pest control to tackle Melastomataceae plants that have become invasive there.

Species