The levuana moth (Levuana iridescens) [1] is an extinct species of moth in the family Zygaenidae. It is monotypic within the genus Levuana. The levuana moth became a serious pest for coconut plants in 1877, in Viti Levu, Fiji.

Dec 5, 2019 · Levuana iridescens Bethune-Baker, 1906, a day-flying moth purported to be endemic to the Fijian Island of Viti Levu and a former pest of its coconut palm trees, was last observed in 1956 and has been officially declared extinct by IUCN since 1996.

One of the most famous and "best documented cases of extinction" in biological control is the extirpation of the pestiferous levuana moth, Levuana iridescens Bethune-Baker (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae) in Fiji, by the deliberately introduced parasitic fly, Bessa remota (Aldrich) (Diptera: Tachinidae), from Malaya (Howarth, 1991; 2001; New 2005).

Levuana iridescens Bethune-Baker (Figure 1A) is known only from Fiji, an archi-pelago of approximately 300 islands in the South Pacific. Levuana is a monotypic zygae-nid genus containing one described species, iridescens Bethune-Baker, 1906. Levuana iri-descens is a purple moth that was first recorded as a serious coconut pest around 1877 from a

In 1925, J.D. Tothill and two colleagues set out to manage Levuana iridescens, the coconut moth of Fiji, using biological control.

Oct 1, 2006 · Levuana is a monotypic zygaenid genus containing one described species, iridescens Bethune-Baker, 1906. Levuana iridescens is a purple moth that was first recorded as a serious coconut pest around 1877 from a single island, Viti Levu, in Fiji.

Historically the coconut moth was restricted to the large island of Viti Levu where it was considered native. Because of the damage, coconuts were never considered a commercial crop there. The threat developed as the moth spread to other islands causing defoliation and …

The insect in question, Levuana iridescens, belongs to the family Zygsenidae and, so far as is known, is confined to Fiji. Its larvae, by destroying the foliage of the coconut, converted what...

Dec 5, 2019 · Levuana iridescens Bethune-Baker, 1906, a day-flying moth purported to be endemic to the Fijian Island of Viti Levu and a former pest of its coconut palm trees, was last observed in 1956 and has been officially declared extinct by IUCN since 1996.

Synonym/s: Levuana irridescens Bethune-Baker, 1906:344. Missing. Last record: 1929 (Howarth, 1991) IUCN RedList status: Extinct. The extinction of this species is unresolved: http://www.biocontrol.ucr.edu/hoddle/Levuana.html. Viti Levu, Fiji. Original scientific description: Bethune-Baker, George T. (1906). Descriptions of African Lepidoptera. Ann.