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African primitive ghost moths, family Prototheoridae, comprise 12 species of small moths from South Africa. The family is in the superfamily Hepialoidea, in the infraorder Exoporia. Adults small (18–mm wingspan), with head rough-scaled; haustellum reduced and vestigial mandibles present; labial palpi long and porrect, 3-segmented; maxillary palpi short and 3-segmented; antennae short. Maculation is brown or gray, with various darker spots. Biologies and larvae remain unknown.
References
Davis DR (1996) A revision of the southern African family Prototheoridae (Lepidoptera: Hepialoidea). Entomol Scand 27:393–439
Davis DR (2001) A new species of Prototheora from Malawi, with additional notes on the distribution and morphology of the genus (Lepidoptera: Prototheoridae). Proc Entomol Soc Wash 103:452–456
Davis DR (2003) Prototheoridae. In: Lepidopterorum Catalogus, (n.s.). Fasc. 11. Assoc Trop Lepid Gainesville, 8 pp
Janse AJT (1942) Prototheoridae. In: Janse AJT (ed) The moths of South Africa, Pretoria, 4(1): 65–74
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Heppner, J.B. (2008). African Primitive Ghost Moths (Lepidoptera: Prototheoridae). In: Capinera, J.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_98
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_98
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
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Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-6359-6
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