Stemorrhages sericea, the large emerald pearl, is a moth of the subfamily of Spilomelinae within the family Crambidae. It lives throughout Africa south of the Sahara,[1] and the Indian Ocean islands of Réunion, Madagascar, Mauritius and the Comoros.

Large emerald pearl
Hiding on leaf underside
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Crambidae
Genus:	Stemorrhages
Species:	S. sericea
Binomial name
Stemorrhages sericea (Drury, 1773)
Synonyms
Phalaena (Pyralis) sericea Drury, 1773 Margarodes beryllalis Guenée, 1854 Margarodes beryttalis Margaronia congradalis Hübner, 1825 Geometra laterata Fabricius, 1794 Phalaena Noctua polita Cramer, 1779 Margarodes sericeolalis Guenée, 1862 Botys thalassinalis Boisduval, 1833

Adults are pale turquoise with a brown stripe at the front edge of the wings. They have a brush of brown scent disseminating scales, called androconia, on the tail that can be everted for mate attraction.

The larvae feed on species of the Rubiaceae (including Gardenia jasminoides), the Apocynaceae (including Nerium oleander, Tabernanthe iboga, Tabernaemontana persicaefolia and Ervatamia coronaria), and besides on Raphia and Afrocarpus.[1][2]

References

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