Teak
Guides
Hyblaea puera
teak defoliator
A small moth (wingspan 3–4 cm) and major defoliator of teak and mangrove ecosystems across tropical Asia. Adults have greyish-brown forewings that conceal brightly colored black and orange-yellow hindwings at rest. The species undergoes dramatic population outbreaks, with densities shifting from endemic levels to epidemic proportions seasonally. It has expanded beyond its native South and Southeast Asian range to Central America, Africa, and Australia, and has recently emerged as a serious invasive pest of mangroves in India and China.
Hyblaeoidea
Teak Moths
Hyblaeoidea is a small superfamily of moths in the order Lepidoptera, containing a single family Hyblaeidae with two genera (Hyblaea and Erythrochrus) and approximately 20 species. The superfamily has an uncertain phylogenetic position within the group Obtectomera, sometimes placed near Pyraloidea. Members are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. The genus Hyblaea includes significant forest pests, notably Hyblaea puera, the teak defoliator.