General Species Information

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Host Plant: Hammock Velvetseed (Guettarda elliptica)

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Historical Range:  Southernmost Florida

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Our Experience with this Species: We have This species on Key Largo, Big Pine Key and No Name Key in the following months; Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jul, Nov, Dec. They are far more  common in the lower Keys than they are in Key Largo.

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Notes:  In the year 2000 I found my first specimen on a wall at the hotel I was staying at in Key Largo. It would be another 7 years until I would see another one. In 9 years of consistant moth surveying in Key Largo, we found 4 total specimens of this species. It was concidered one of my most prized finds when encountered. In 2013 however, when we started surveying Big Pine Key and No Name Key, we were pleased to see that this species has a much stronger population towards the southern Keys. Females were obtained one night and when placed in a paper bag with some leaves of the host plant, they quickly began laying eggs. Larvae are very picky, only eating the freshest and newest foliage on the host.