Cacocharis is a small Neotropical genus comprised of two species: C. albimacula Walsingham, 1872 and C. cymotoma (Meyrick 1917). The synonymy of Olethreutes canofascia Forbes 1930 (new syn.) with C. cymotoma is proposed. The two recognized species are sympatric in the Caribbean on Jamaica, Dominica, and St. Vincent, indicating considerable independent dispersal or inadvertent introduction events. Based on literature and specimen sources, the larval food plants for the genus are Phyllanthus acidus Skeels and P. niuri L. (Euphorbiaceae), which are widely known for their medicinal properties. A possible explanation for the high level of sympatry of the moth species in the Caribbean is that they have been transported throughout the region along with their larval hosts.
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1 July 2008
Review of the Neotropical Genus Cacocharis Walsingham (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae: Olethreutini), with a New Synonymy and Comments on Its Host Plants and Geographic Distribution
John W. Brown
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Caribbean
neotropical
Phyllanthus
systematics
Tortricidae