''Diaphania hyalinata'', the melonworm moth, is a

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 The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...

. It is found in eastern North America, south to Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

, including Suriname and the Caribbean. Eggs Diaphania hyalinata

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

is 27–30 mm. The wings are pearly white centrally, and slightly iridescent, but are edged with a broad band of dark brown. Adults are on wing from October to November in the northern part of the range and all year round in multiple generations in Florida and further south. The larvae feed on various plants in the cucumber family, including cucumber, melon, pumpkin, and squash. They construct a loose silken structure under the leaves of their host plant.

References

Moths described in 1767 Diaphania Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Moths of North America Moths of South America {{Diaphania-stub