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Species Crambidia pallida - Pale Lichen Moth - Hodges#8045.1

Representative Images

Pale Lichen Moth - Hodges#8045.1 - Crambidia pallida Erebidae: Crambidia pallida - Crambidia pallida Unid Moth - Crambidia pallida Crambidia - Crambidia pallida Crambidia pallida Crambidia pallida Moth - Crambidia pallida Moth - Crambidia pallida
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 Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)
Family Erebidae
Subfamily Arctiinae (Tiger and Lichen Moths)
Tribe Lithosiini (Lichen Moths)
Subtribe Lithosiina
Genus Crambidia
Species pallida (Pale Lichen Moth - Hodges#8045.1)

Hodges Number

8045.1

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Crambidia pallida (Packard, 1864)

Size

WS ≈ 19-25mm (1)
TL ≈ 11mm (2)

Identification

Adult: FW slender, light to medium yellowish-brown or grayish with slightly paler veins, giving a streaked appearance; wingtips rounded. Antennae simple in both sexes. HW about twice as broad as FW, paler and unmarked.

Range

Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Texas, north to North Dakota and Manitoba

Habitat

forests and woodlands; adults are attracted to light

Season

adults fly from May to September

Food

larvae feed on lichens, and show a preference for the algae component of lichens that grow on tree bark, rather than lichens on rocks (Colorado State U.--link dead as of 5/17/2012)

Life Cycle

two generations per year

Remarks

Dark Gray Lichen Moth (lithosioides) and Pale Lichen Moth (pallida) can only be differentiated by:
serrate antennae and yellow costal stripe – lithosioides, female
pectinate antennae –lithosioides, male
filiform antennae - pallida, both sexes

See Also

C. uniformis is smaller and dark gray, almost blackish
C. lithosioides is smaller, and Covell's Guide says the male has broadly bipectinate antennae and a gray forewing with pale tan veins, whereas the female has saw-toothed antennae, a yellow collar, and a dark gray forewing
The crambid moths Agriphila ruricolella and A. vulgivagella have a similarly streaked forewing but the wings are more triangular and square-tipped, and the moths have a large hairy snout

Print References

Covell, p. 59, plate 16 (5) (1)
Wagner, p. 459--photo of caterpillar (3)

Internet References

Moth Photographer's Group
live adult image and food plants (Larry Line, Maryland)
pinned adult image plus comparison image of possibly a different species (James Adams, Dalton State College, Georgia)
presence in Florida; list (Michael Thomas, Florida State Collection of Arthropods)
presence in Georgia; list and link to pinned image (James Adams, Dalton State College, Georgia)

Works Cited

1.Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Moths
Charles V. Covell. 1984. Houghton Mifflin Company.
2.Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America
David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie. 2012. Houghton Mifflin.
3.Caterpillars of Eastern North America
David L. Wagner. 2005. Princeton University Press.
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 2 December, 2005 - 12:23pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Tony-2, Robert Lord Zimlich, Kyhl Austin, Steve Morris
Last updated 28 April, 2023 - 12:32pm

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