''Prophantis smaragdina'' is a species of

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family Crambidae described by Arthur Gardiner Butler in 1875. It is found in subtropical Africa south of the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

Food plants

The larvae of this species infest coffee beans. Known food plants of this species are: Rubiaceae (''

Coffea arabica ''Coffea arabica'' (), also known as the Arabic coffee, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee and madder family Rubiaceae. It is believed to be the first species of coffee to have been cultivated and is currently the dominant cultivar, r ...

'', ''

Ixora coccinea ''Ixora coccinea'' (also known as jungle geranium, flame of the woods or jungle flame or pendkuli) is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is a common flowering shrub native to Southern India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. It h ...

'' and ''

Gardenia ''Gardenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, native to the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, Madagascar and Pacific Islands, and Australia. The genus was named by Carl Linnaeus and John Ellis aft ...

'' sp.),

Verbenaceae The Verbenaceae ( ), the verbena family or vervain family, is a family of mainly tropical flowering plants. It contains trees, shrubs, and herbs notable for heads, spikes, or clusters of small flowers, many of which have an aromatic smell. The ...

(''

Duranta plumieri ''Duranta'' is a genus of flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. It contains 17 species of shrubs and small trees that are native from southern Florida to Mexico and South America. They are commonly cultivated as hedges and ornament ...

''), and Menispermaceae (''

Triclisia ''Triclisia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Menispermaceae Menispermaceae (botanical Latin: 'moonseed family' from Greek ''mene'' 'crescent moon' and ''sperma'' 'seed') is a family of flowering plants. The alkaloid tubocurarine ...

'' sp.).Guillermet, C. 2009a. ''Les Hétérocères, ou papillons de nuit, de l'île de La Réunion''. Volume 3. Familles des Pyralidae et Crambidae

References

Bibliography

* Butler, A. G. 1875. "On a collection of Lepidoptera from southern Africa, with descriptions of new genera and species". ''Annals and Magazine of Natural History''. (4)16(96):394–420. Moths described in 1875 Spilomelinae Moths of Sub-Saharan Africa Moths of Madagascar Moths of Mauritius Moths of Réunion Moths of São Tomé and Príncipe Moths of the Middle East {{Spilomelinae-stub