Superfamily Pyraloidea (Pyralid and Crambid Snout Moths)
Family Crambidae (Crambid Snout Moths)
Subfamily Crambinae (Crambine Snout Moths)
Tribe Crambini (Grass-Veneers)
Genus Crambus
Species daeckellus (Daecke's Grass-veneer - Hodges#5350)
Hodges Number
5350
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Crambus daeckellus Haimbach, 1907
Explanation of Names
Specific epithet in honor of German-born entomologist Von Adolf Erich Daecke who collected the first specimens.
Size
Wingspan: 27-31 mm, making it the largest Crambus species normally found in the eastern US (1).
Identification
The combination of its large size and pattern of silvery streaks should be diagnostic (1).
Range
Endemic to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey (known from Fort Dix, Lakehurst Naval Station, and near Warren Grove), but its suspected foodplant also occurs in the southern Appalachians (1).
Habitat
Found in pitch pine (Pinus rigida) lowlands and reedgrass (Calamovilfa brevipilis) savannas. All documented recent sites had burned within the previous 1-5 years, and some occupied patches burn almost every year" (1).
Very little is known about the biology of this species. "Adults are often found a few months after fires, suggesting that the caterpillars and pupae live underground" (1).
Remarks
Heavily dependent on frequent fire, which cuts back on tall shrubs, invasive species, and allows Eastern Turkeybeard (Xerophyllum asphodeloides), its suspected hostplant, to grow (1).
Print References
Haimbach, F. 1907: Two new species of Crambus and a new variety of Haematopsis grataria Fabricius. Entomological News, Philadelphia 18: 44–45.