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Species Fumibotys fumalis - Mint Root Borer - Hodges#4950

Mint Root Borer - Hodges#4950 - Fumibotys fumalis Crambidae: Fumibotys fumalis - Fumibotys fumalis Crambidae: Fumibotys fumalis - Fumibotys fumalis Crambidae: Fumibotys fumalis - Fumibotys fumalis Crambidae: Fumibotys fumalis - Fumibotys fumalis Fumibotys fumalis Porch Moth 14 - Fumibotys fumalis Moth - Fumibotys fumalis
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Pyraloidea (Pyralid and Crambid Snout Moths)
Family Crambidae (Crambid Snout Moths)
Subfamily Pyraustinae
Tribe Pyraustini
Genus Fumibotys
Species fumalis (Mint Root Borer - Hodges#4950)
Hodges Number
4950
Numbers
the only species in this genus in North America
Size
wingspan 20 mm
larva to 19 mm
Identification
Adult: forewing orangish to light brown with AM line shaped like an arc, and PM line shape like a sine wave; large diffuse dark patch near middle of wing between AM and PM lines

Larva: young larva is 2-3 mm long, yellow to light green with dark stripes down the back; older larva is up to 19 mm long, yellow-tan with a red-brown head
Range
much of North America
Season
adults fly from June to August
Food
young larvae feed on the leaves of mint (Mentha spp.); older larvae feed on the roots and rhizomes of the same plants
Life Cycle
overwinters in the soil around mint roots as a prepupa; pupates in the spring and emerges as a moth in June and July; larvae hatch from eggs deposited on the undersides of leaves and feed for a short time before moving into the soil to feed inside the rhizomes; continued feeding eventually kills the mint plant
Remarks
can be a serious pest to commercial mint growers
Internet References
biology and control (North Carolina State U.)
live prepupa image (Oregon State U.)
live adult image (Oregon State U.)
live larva image (U. of Idaho)