Cometaster is a monotypic moth genus of the family Erebidae erected by George Hampson in 1913. Its only species, Cometaster pyrula, the faint owl moth or ying-yang moth, was first described by Carl Heinrich Hopffer in 1857."Cometaster pyrula (Hopffer, 1857)". African Moths. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
Distribution It is found in Eastern and Southern Africa, mainly in Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Biological control agent In October 2004, as part of a biological control project, larvae of this moth from South Africa were released in Queensland, Australia, in order to keep under control the type of acacia Acacia nilotica subsp. indica, a major invasive species in the Mitchell Grass Downs.Rangaswamy Muniappan, Gadi V. P. Reddy & Anantanarayanan Raman (eds.), Biological Control of Tropical Weeds Using Arthropods, Cambridge University Press 2009, pg. 26
References
External links
"The host range and biology of Cometaster pyrula; a biocontrol agent for Acacia nilotica subsp. indica in Australia"