Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Anatrachyntis rileyi
The caterpillar has been reported as a scavenger in dead plant material, but also as a leaf-miner and eating seeds or fruits on their surface or inside (Zimmerman, 1978), and as a predator of scale insects (Pierce, 1995). It has been reported to feed on dasheen (Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott, Araceae), pineaple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr., Bromeliaceae), flowers of castorbean (Ricinus species, Euphorbiaceae), flowers of bushmint (Hyptis species, Lamiaceae), cotton seed and rotten cotton bolls (Gossypium species, Malvaceae), milo maize grain (Sorghum vulgare Pers.), stems, husks, and tassels of corn (Zea mays L.) (Poaceae) (Hodges 1978). I have seen three specimens from the Galapagos. They were reared from stems of white mangrove (Laguncularia racemosa (L.) Gaertn. f., Combretaceae) by C. Causton, in April 1999, and by T. Paulson, in July 2000. The twigs from which the moths were reared were infested with the cottony cushion scale (/cerya purchasi Maskell, Margarodidae). The
Diagnosis. In the Galapagos Islands, this species may be considered roughly similar to the Cosmopterix species, but its wing pattern (fig. 5) and genitalia are very distinctive
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Superfamily
Gelechioidea
Family
Cosmopterigidae
Genus
Anatrachyntis
Species
rileyi
Taxon category: Accepted
Syn.: Pyroderces rileyi (Walsingham, 1882);
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 2000
Mode of introduction: Accidental
Introduction Pathway: Contaminant
Subpathway: Contaminant on plants (inc. seeds and plant associated material)
Introduced status: Naturalized
Invasive status: No data
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Santa Cruz (Landry, 2001), Isabela (Roque, 2006).
- Causton, C.E. Peck, S. B., Sinclair, B. J., Roque-Albelo, L., Hodgson, C. J. & B. Landry. (2006) Alien insects: threats and implications for the conservation of the Galapagos Islands. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 99(1), 121-143.
- Landry, B. (2001) The Cosmopterigidae (Lepidoptera) of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Rev. Suisse Zool. 108(3): 513-539.
- Roque-Albelo, L. (2006) Diversity and ecology of the Lepidoptera in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador Cardiff University (United Kingdom)
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This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Anatrachyntis rileyi", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=25193. Accessed 31 October 2026.