Species Loxostege cereralis - Alfalfa Webworm - Hodges#5017

5017

Loxostege cereralis (Zeller, 1872)

Eurycreon cereralis Zeller, 1872

Wingspan 30-34 mm (1)

Adult: forewing whitish or pale gray with several longitudinal black and brown streaks; whitish or pale yellow patch in median area near costa; subterminal area yellow, shaped liked an almost-flat triangle; fringe dark brownish-gray; hindwing gray with darker shading along veins, fringe pale gray

Specimen identified by DNA analysis (BOLD). (2)

Genitalia:

Larva: body yellowish to dark green with broad light-colored stripe down back, and darker stripe parallel to light stripe

Quebec and New York to Georgia, west to California, north to British Columbia. (3), (4), (5)

also occurs in Mexico.

fields, gardens, waste places

Adults are most common from March to October.

larvae feed on alfalfa and a variety of other crops and weed species

overwinters as a larva or pupa; adults emerge in spring; 2-20 eggs are laid in overlapping groups on underside of leaves of hostplant

Images of eggs & larva - Wikipedia

Beet Webworm Moth (Loxostege sticticalis) forewing is yellowish-brown without black longitudinal streaks, and hindwing has pale PM band.

Munroe, E., 1976. The Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 13.2a. The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation. p. 77; pl. 4, figs. 6-12, 36. (6)

Powell, J.A., & P.A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. pl. 22, fig. 39; p. 175. (7)

Zeller, 1872. Verh. z.-b. Ver. Wien. 1: 517.

Moth Photographers Group (8)

pinned adult image and comment on distribution (James Adams, Dalton State College, Georgia)

live larva image plus biology and description of this and similar species (U. of California at Davis)

Moths of North Dakota

E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum (1)

live adult images plus description and foodplants (Lynn Scott, Ontario)

The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (2)