Aegiale hesperiaris

Aegiale hesperiaris is a butterfly commonly known as the tequila giant skipper. It is monotypic in the genus Aegiale. Its caterpillar is one of two varieties of edible "maguey worms" that infest maguey (Agave americana) and Agave tequilana plants.[1][2]

Aegiale hesperiaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Hesperiinae
Genus: Aegiale
C.Felder & R.Felder, 1860
Species:
A. hesperiaris
Binomial name
Aegiale hesperiaris
(Walker, 1856)
Synonyms

Genus:

  • Acentrocneme C.Felder & R.Felder, 1862 (repl. name)
  • Teria P.Blásquez & I.Blásquez, 1870
  • Acentrocneme Scudder, 1875

Species:

  • Castnia hesperiaris Walker, 1856
  • Aegiale kollari C.Felder & R.Felder, 1860
  • Teria agavis P.Blásquez & I.Blásquez, 1865

The white maguey worm, known as meocuiles, are caterpillars of this species.[3]

It usually is found in regions of Central Mexico, on the leaves of family Agavaceae plants, such as: Agave tequilana and Agave americana (maguey). They are not found on cacti, as is often erroneously reported. The butterflies deposit their eggs at the heart of the leaves of agaves. The larvae then eat the flesh of the agave stems and roots, sometimes boring out the agave completely.

References
  1. "babelfish". Archived from the original on 2007-04-27.
  2. "mexicanmercados.com". Archived from the original on 2017-11-09.
  3. "naba.org".
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