Upiga is a monotypic moth genus described by Hahn William Capps in 1964. The genus is placed in the family Crambidae, but has also been placed in Pyralidae. It contains only one species, Upiga virescens, the senita moth, described by George Duryea Hulst in 1900 and found in the Sonoran Desert of North America. The moth is best known for its obligate mutualism with Pachycereus schottii, the senita cactus. The senita moth is one of the few pollinators of the senita cactus, and the moth relies on the cactus as a host for reproduction. Larvae bore into flowers and consume the developing fruit and seeds inside. This obligate mutualism is similar to that of yuccas and yucca moths. Description The senita moth is light brown with wide white stripes traversing the body from head to wing tip. It is relatively small, with forewings 7 to 10 mm in length. The abdomen of the female is covered with scales, called the posterior brush, which are used to collect pollen from senita cactus flowers. Distribution The senita moth is native to the Sonoran Desert in the US state of Arizona and the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California. Life cycle The life cycle of the senita moth is completely reliant on the moth's host plant, the senita cactus. The senita cactus has an extended flowering season during which several moth generations are completed. Egg Eggs are laid singly on open senita cactus flowers, either on the petals, anthers, or the corolla tube. Larva Larvae can hatch within hours of egg laying, but may take up to three days. First-instar larvae bore into the flowers of the senita cactus towards the developing fruit. This occurs within five to six days, as the corolla becomes impenetrable after this point, blocking larvae access to the fruit. The second instar begins once larvae start eating the developing fruit. Larvae develop into the third instar after they reach eight days of age. They then bore an exit hole through the fruit and, at twelve to seventeen days of age, either pupate or enter diapause, a state of developmental dormancy, to overwinter in the stem of the senita and then emerge in a later flowering season. Unlike other lepidopterans, whose larvae undergo at least four instars, senita moth larvae have only three instars. This could be due to size limitations, where larvae that continue to grow past