Specimens of G. wrightorum were collected in 1994 and 1995 on the 110-acre Huffman Prairie by Eric H. Metzler, an entomologist with the Ohio Lepidopterist Society. The prairie is an Ohio-registered Natural Refuge and National Landmark. ARS scientists identified and categorized the moth as belonging to the genus Glyphidocera . The scientists believe the new species is a living remnant of prairie ecology that existed in Ohio for many centuries. G. wrightorum is one of many species in the genus that are only found in the New World.
Nothing is known yet of the moth's host-plant associations.
The scientists reported their findings, describing the G. wrightorum , in The Proceeding of the Entomological Society of Washington , April 2000. Sweetpotatoes are a highly nutritious vegetable. Ruddy is the first attractive, red-skinned, orange flesh sweetpotato with multiple pest resistance to insects, diseases, and nematodes to be developed by ARS scientists working with researchers at the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, Clemson University. It produces high yields and keeps well under long-term storage. It is more susceptible to white grub larvae than the insect-resistant cultivar Regal.