Asciodes

Asciodes is a genus of snout moths in the subfamily Spilomelinae of the family Crambidae.^[1] The genus was erected by Achille Guenée in 1854 with Asciodes gordialis as type species.^{[2]: 374 [3]: 217}

Asciodes
Asciodes quietalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Crambidae
Subfamily:	Spilomelinae
Tribe:	Asciodini
Genus:	Asciodes Guenée, 1854[1]

Distribution and habitat

The five species are distributed from the southern United States (California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, South Carolina) and Mexico over the Caribbean (Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Lesser Antilles) to the tropical and subtropical South America (Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador).^[1][4][5][6]

Behaviour and ecology

Like other Asciodini, caterpillars of Asciodes commonly feed on Caryophyllales.^[7] So far, only the food plants of Asciodes gordialis larvae have been recorded, which are mostly Bougainvillea, Mirabilis and Pisonia (all in the Nyctaginaceae family), but also non-Caryophyllales like Citrus (Rutaceae) and Manihot esculenta (Euphorbiaceae).^[8]

Species

• Asciodes denticulinea (Schaus, 1940)
• Asciodes gordialis Guenée, 1854
• Asciodes quietalis (Walker, 1859)
• Asciodes scopulalis Guenée, 1854
• Asciodes titubalis Möschler, 1890