''Diota rostrata'' is a species of
moth of the subfamily
Arctiinae first described by Wallengren in 1860. It is found in
South Africa,
Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
,
Zimbabwe,
Kenya and
Ethiopia.
"Biology and Laboratory Host Range of the Moth, ''Diota rostrata'' (Wallengren) (Noctuidae: Arctiinae), a Natural Enemy of Cape ivy"
/ref>
The length of the forewings is 13–16 mm. Adults are cream coloured with brown mottling and darker shades as well as a few black dots in the basal, medial and post medial areas on the forewings.
The larvae feed on a wide range of plants including '' Senecio'' species (including '' S. angulatus'', '' S. tamoides'' and '' S. oxyodontus''), '' Delairea odorata'', '' Mikaniopsis cissampelina'', '' Kleinia abyssinica'', ''Carthamus tinctorius
Safflower (''Carthamus tinctorius'') is a highly branched, herbaceous, thistle-like annual plant in the family Asteraceae. It is commercially cultivated for vegetable oil extracted from the seeds and was used by the early Spanish colonies along ...
'', ''Daucus carota
''Daucus carota'', whose common names include wild carrot, European wild carrot, bird's nest, bishop's lace, and Queen Anne's lace (North America), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is native to temperate regions of the Old Wor ...
'' and '' Bidens pilosa''.
References
Moths described in 1860
Nyctemerina
Moths of Sub-Saharan Africa
{{Nyctemerina-stub