Mocis megas

Male

St-Kitts, St-Paul's, 7-XII-83

Female

St-Kitts, Phillips Level, 6-XII-83

Mocis megas (Guenée, 1852)

Noctuidae Catocalinae

Systematics

The genus Mocis (s.l.) is currently under revision (Lalanne-Cassou and Silvain, to be published).
The differences in genitalia structure lead us to keep both genera Mocis and Remigia.

Biology and distribution

Larva on Poaceae.

Fairly common in Guadeloupe.
Marie Galante: St-Louis.

St-Kitts, Montserrat, Dominica, St-Lucia.
Throughout the Greater Antilles (St-Thomas: lectotype of M. megas).

Venezuela (one specimen at USNM), French Guyana (one specimen).

Legend

Pheromone

The sex pheromone produced by the female moths has been described without biological evaluation (Descoins C., Malosse C., Renou M., Lalanne-Cassou B. and Le Duchat d'Aubigny J., 1990, Experientia., 46: 536-539). It consists of:

(Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-heneicosatriene: 55%
(Z,Z)-3,6-(9S,10R)-9,10-epoxyheneicosadiene: 45%

The androconial organs of male moths are located on the upper part of the prothoracic pleura. Their chemical analysis revealed eight compounds:

(Z,Z)-6,9-heneicosadiene: 64%
(Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-heneicosatriene: 24%
(Z,Z)-6,9-nonadecadiene: 5%
(Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-nonadecatriene: 4%
(Z,Z)-6,9-eicosadiene: 2%
(Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-eicosatriene: 1%
(Z,Z)-6,9-docosadiene: tr.
(Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-docosatriene: tr.

The second compound ((Z,Z,Z)-3,6,9-heneicosatriene) is found in both female and male secretions, while the first one is a component of the female sex pheromone of Remigia latipes. The behavioral role of this potential courtship pheromone has not yet been elucidated.
The large hairy organs on male hindlegs revealed no pheromone-like compounds after chemical analyses.
Source: Pherolist, a database on sex pheromones and attractants in Lepidoptera.

Male genitalia (JPG 75 Kb).

Similar species

Mocis and related genera.

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