Species Rhizedra lutosa - Large Wainscot - Hodges#9447.2

9447.2

the only species in this genus in North America

wingspan 42-50 mm

forewing cream-colored with PM line composed of five equally-spaced dark dots mid-wing, plus a more displaced sixth dot near the inner margin; sparse gray speckling and shading along wing veins

hindwing slightly paler but with similar pattern and shading

common throughout western Europe; introduced to New Jersey in 1988; has since spread north to New Brunswick, west to Ohio, and northwest to Ontario

wet or marshy areas where the food plant (Phragmites) grows; adults are nocturnal and attracted to light

adults fly from August to November

larvae from spring to July/August

larvae feed inside the lower stems and rhizomes of Common Reed (Phragmites australis)

overwinters as an egg on leaf of food plant; larvae hatch in spring, enter newly growing Phragmites shoots, and feed in the rhizome; attack by larvae results in shoot death, visible as dying yellow shoots in the middle of the growing season; larvae complete development by July or August, and pupate in the soil; adults fly in the fall

It was hoped that the larvae of this species would be effective in controlling Phragmites, considered a weed in many areas of the east, but its impact has been minimal in North America.

species of Leucania and other members of the tribe Hadenini