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Abstract:
Summary
Information is given on the biotop, the larval and the pupal cases, and the feeding-habits of the larva of Elophila
(Pyralididae), a moth of Brazilian Guayana with aquatic and torrenticol metamorphosis-stages. The caterpillars live in flat tunnel-shaped webs which have a perfuration on the anterior end, and which are fixed to water-swept rocks, where currency reaches up to more than 2 meters/sec. They feed on algae and debris picked up in front of the dwellings and from the webs. The pupal cases are oval-shaped, flat vaults made of the same material like the larval sheets. The anterior end is elevated in form of a papilla which has an opening through which the imago emerges. The pupa lies in a loose-spun cocon in the interior and it is supplied with fresh water by a series of little holes on each side of the case.