American chestnut moth
| American chestnut moth | |
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| Species: | E. castaneae
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| Binomial name | |
| Ectoedemia castaneae Busck, 1913
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The American chestnut moth (Ectoedemia castaneae) was a species of moth in the family Nepticulidae. It was[when?] endemic to the United States, including Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
Its wingspan was 7.5–8 mm.
The larvae formed galls encircling young twigs of American chestnut, resembling in shape and size egg-masses of the forest tent caterpillar. The moth's synergistic relationship with the North American nut species led to a catastrophic population decline when almost all of the American chestnut trees fell victim to chestnut blight. The American chestnut was driven almost to extinction, and the American chestnut moth was driven completely to extinction.
Sources
- Nepticulidae of North America
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Ectodemia castaneae". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996. IUCN: e.T7028A12823728. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T7028A12823728.en. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
 | This article on a moth of the Ectoedemia genus is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- IUCN Red List extinct species
- Nepticulidae
- Moths described in 1913
- Extinct insects since 1500
- Extinct animals of the United States
- Natural history of Kentucky
- Natural history of Pennsylvania
- Natural history of Virginia
- Endemic fauna of the United States
- Moths of the United States
- Species endangered by disease
- Ectoedemia stubs