Galapagos Species Database

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn: Megalorhipida defectalis (Walker)

Origin: Introduced - established

Year of first record: 1923

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: Baltra, Española, Fernandina, Floreana, Genovesa, Isabela, Marchena, Pinta, Pinzón, Rábida, Santa Cruz, San Cristóbal, Santiago Landry (1993), Peck et al. (1998), Roque-Albelo (2006), García-Ruilova et al. (2026)

• 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.
• García-Ruilova, A. B. Donoso, D. A., Basset, Y., Carrión-Olmedo, J. C., Garcés-Carrera, S., Jarrín-V, P., Muñoz-Tobar, S. I., Padhye, S., Perez, K. H. J., Sones, J. E., Quiñónez-Sánchez, D., Sánchez, P., Smith, M. A., Janzen, D. H., Hallwachs, W., Hebert, P. D. N., & Inclán, D. J. (2026) Barcoding Megadiversity: An Arthropod Database from Sites in the Neotropical Eastern Pacific Bioregion. Sci Data 13, 1026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-026-07465-z
• Landry, B. Roque-Albelo, L. & Matthews, D.L. (2004) Supplemental additions to the Pterophoridae (Lepidoptera) of the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) with descriptions of a new species of Adaina Tutt. Mitteil. schweiz. Entomol. Ges. - Bull. Soc. Entomol. Suisse 77: 289-310.
• Landry, B. (1993) Additions to the knowledge of Pterophoridae (Lepidoptera) of the Galápagos archipelago, Ecuador, with decriptions of two new species. Zool. Med. 67(34): 473-485.
• Landry, B. Gielis, C. (1992) A synopsis of the Pterophoridae (Lepidoptera) of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Zool. Verhandelingen 276: 3-42.
• Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
• Roque-Albelo, L. (2006) Diversity and ecology of the Lepidoptera in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador Cardiff University (United Kingdom)
• Roque-Albelo, L. Landry, B. (2016) CDF Checklist of Galapagos Butterflies and Moths Charles Darwin Research Station, Puerto Ayora, Ecuador, 32 pp.