Exotic, but established
Homadaula anisocentra Meyrick (Galacticidae)
Common name: mimosa webworm
Synonyms: albizziae (Homadaula), usuguronis (Homadaula)
Though not a member of Tortricidae, we include Homadaula anisocentra (Galacticidae) on this site because of its similarity to many species of Tortricidae and its tendency to come to tortricid pheromone lures and traps. Recent molecular analyses suggest Galacticidae + Heliocosmidae may be sister to Tortricoidea (Regier et al. 2013Regier et al. 2013:
Regier, J. C., Mitter, C., Zwick, A., Bazinet, A. L., Cummings, M. P., Kawahara, A. Y., Sohn, J. C., Zwickl, D. J., Cho, S., Davis, D. R., Baixeras, J., Brown, J., Parr, C., Weller, S., Lees, D. C., Mitter, K. T. 2013. A large-scale, higher-level, molecular phylogenetic study of the insect order lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). PLoS ONE. 8(3): e58568.), a relationship supported by the shared structure of the abdominal apodemes.
Homadaula consists of about 15 species distributed primarily in Africa, the Arabian peninsula, and Australia. An enigmatic group, the higher relationships of Homadaula and Galacticidae within Lepidoptera remains uncertain.
FWL: 5.0-6.5 mm
Homadaula anisocentra can be immediately distinguished from Tortricidae by the lack of chaetosemata. Fresh specimens can be recognized by their shiny gray forewing covered with scattered black dots. The hindwings are solid gray. Male genitalia of Galacticidae are characterized by tergum VIII forming a hood over the genitalia capsule. Female genitalia characterized by the ostiumostium:
see ostium bursae 
bursae possessing a minute orifice on a curved, sclerotizedsclerotized:
hardened; usually in reference to larval structures or adult genitalia 
tube projecting from the membrane behind segment VII (Dugdale et al. 1998Dugdale et al. 1998:
Dugdale, J. S., Kristensen, N. P., Robinson, G. S., Scoble, M. J. 1998. The Smaller Microlepidoptera-Grade Superfamilies, pp. 217-232. In : Kristensen, N. P. (ed.), Handbook of Zoology, Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies, Vol 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York.).
Mature larvae are 12-16 mm long, gray to dark brown, and possess five longitudinal stripes running the length of their body. Occasionally the larvae may be suffused with pink (Heppner & Dekle 1975). Prothoracic L-group trisetose, on pronotal shield; L1 and 2 on same pinaculumpinaculum:
singular of "pinacula"
on I-IV, but on separate pinaculapinacula:
flattened sclerotized plates on a caterpillar that bear the setae
on VII-VIII (Dugdale et al. 1998Dugdale et al. 1998:
Dugdale, J. S., Kristensen, N. P., Robinson, G. S., Scoble, M. J. 1998. The Smaller Microlepidoptera-Grade Superfamilies, pp. 217-232. In : Kristensen, N. P. (ed.), Handbook of Zoology, Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies, Vol 1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York.).
The pupa averages about 6 mm long, yellow-brown, and is enclosed in a silken white cocoon in the leaves of its host plant.
The FW pattern of Homadaula anisocentra is shared with many other distantly related species of Lepidoptera (e.g. Yponomeuta spp., Ethmia spp., Greya spp., Acrolophus spilotus) but genitalia should easily separate them all.
In North America, H. anisocentra is known to feed on mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) and honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos). Larvae feed on flowers and foliage of these two plants by webbing together leaves. Overwintering occurs in the pupal stage, encased in cocoons on bark of their host tree or in the leaf litter below. Adult moths eclose in the spring, mate, and lay eggs on leaves of the hosts. Larvae hatch in early to mid-June. In the United States, there are two generations per year in most locations. The second generation of adults usually are active by August.
| Host plant | Host plant family | Reference(s) |
| Albizia julibrissin | Fabaceae | Clarke 1943 |
| Gleditsia triacanthos | Fabaceae | Heppner & Dekle 1975 |
View full screen host table here
Homadaula anisocentra is native to east Asia. It was introduced to the United States accidentally, probably on mimosa stock from China. Clarke (1943) was the first to report it from North America (Washington, D.C.). The earliest records are from 1940.
The species can now be found over much of eastern North America, with records from as far north as southern Ontario, central New York, and Massachusetts, south to Florida, and west to the Great Plains. A separate population, probably representing a second introduction, has been reported from northern California (Heppner & Dekle 1975).
