Cactoblastis doddi Heinrich
Synonymy and Types
Cactoblastis doddi Heinrich, 1939, Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 86: 358.
Type locality: Tapia, Tucumán, Argentina. Type deposition: National Museum of Natural History, Washington.
Cactoblastis bucyrus Dodd (not Dyar), 1927, Council for Sci. and Ind. Res., Australia, Bull., 34: 30.
This species differs from C. cactorum by having darker forewings with less contrasting white dusting, the subterminal line acute with pointed ends, and usually lacking black dots along termen, sometimes very faintly indicated. Male genitalia are similar to those of cactorum, differing in having a shorter cleft between the prongs at apex of gnathos, although this character is variable among individuals. The female genitalia have more uniformly distributed scobinations of the corpus bursa than in other species of Cactoblastis, although this may not be a reliable character. Dodd (1940) stated that Opuntia sulphurea, the favored host of C. doddi, was not attacked by C. cactorum and that the two Cactoblastis species could be distinguished in the field by differences in the egg sticks and larvae.
Heinrich (1957) could not find differences in larvae of C. doddi and C. cactorum based on specimens preserved in larvae.
Voucher specimens include only the type series from the type locality. According to Dodd (1940), the species occurs in O. sulphurea along the eastern edge and foothills of the Andes from Mendoza, Argentina to the northern boundary of the country, and almost certainly into southern Bolivia at altitudes to more than 8,000 feet. Heinrich (1957) noted that the range of C. doddi was between the range of C. cactorum in southern Argentina and C. mundelli in Peru.
Life History and Larval Hosts
Life History: Unknown
Hosts: Opuntia (Platypuntia) sulphurea G. Don, O. (Platypuntia) ficus-indica (L.) (Dodd, 1940).
Dodd (1940), Heinrich (1956)