Macalla thyrsisalis

Description

Macalla thyrsisalis, the mahogany webworm moth, is a species of snout moth in the genus Macalla. It was described by Francis Walker in 1859. It is found in southern Florida, the Bahamas, Hispaniola, southern Mexico, Central America, Trinidad and the Amazon delta in Brazil. Adults have a dull, brown body and forewings, the latter with indistinct bands. The dorsal surface of the hindwings is off white with brown outer margins. Adults are on wing in spring. The larvae feed on Swietenia mahagoni. They are solitary and spin a web to pull several leaves together and consume these from the leaf margins inward. They feed primarily on young leaves. Full-grown larvae descend from the tree by ballooning, then crawl beneath objects or penetrate leaf litter or the upper surfaces of the soil, where pupation takes place. The larvae have a deep yellow ground colour and lateral bands that consist of three narrow black stripes alternating with two white stripes. The head is black.