Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Crambus watsonellus Klots, 1942
(1) Explanation of Names
Named in honor of Frank E. Watson, entomologist at American Museum of Natural History in the early 1900's.
Numbers
There are more than 42 species of the genus
Crambus in America north of Mexico.
(2),
(3)Size
Klots (1942) listed the forewing length 9.8-13.5 mm.
Identification
Adult: forewing ground color light golden brown, with a satiny luster, paler dorsally. Silvery white discal stripe very broad, separated from costa along its basal half by only a narrow, dark brown line, then diverging. A dorsal tooth, sometimes small, from the stripe beyond its middle. About one-fifth of its length from its tip, the silvery white stripe narrows abruptly, being somewhat concave toward the costa, and terminates in a very slender, acute point. Costad of the tip of the stripe a strong, spindle-shaped, silvery white dash. Both this dash and the large stripe narrowly outlined with darker brown scales. Dorsad of the tip of the stripe a number of intervenular dark brown lines which may extend nearly to the submarginal line. Submarginal line beginning on the costa at a very acute angle, running toward the outer margin below the apex, then curving dorsad, forming a rounded angle of slightly less than 90 degrees and running to the inner margin diverging from the outer margin. Submarginal line of shining, semi-metallic scales, very narrowly margined internally with dark brown. Apical area yellowish white and containing a slender, triangular, dark brown spot. Below this the space between the submarginal line and the outer margin is light yellowish brown, lighter than the ground color of the wing, and somewhat powdery, and contains five short, black, intervenular dashes. Outer margin narrowly dark brown, darkest below the apex. Fringe with a satiny luster, yellowish white with dark brown termination.
Hindwing ground color very pale brownish tinged white, somewhat darker subapically. Fringe much lighter than the ground color, almost white, semi-lustrous.
[copied from original description of species by Alexander Klots]
(1)
The large spindle-shaped white dash at the distal end of the white stripe is also present in Crambus satrapellus but that species differs in several ways, as described in the See Also section below.
Range
Maine to Florida, west to at least Illinois and Ontario.
Habitat
Marshy areas; near creeks; calcareous (limestone) prairies.
Season
The adults fly from August to October.
(3)Remarks
page creation based on matching Klots' original description of this species with the characteristics visible in
this photoSee Also
Leach's Grass-veneer forewing has a narrower white stripe, and lacks a large spindle-shaped white dash at the distal end of the stripe (some individuals have a small white dash)
Crambus satrapellus forewing has a narrower white stripe (especially near the base) that doesn't come close to touching the costa and extends to the subterminal line, and the spindle-shaped white distal dash touches or extends beyond the ST line.
Print References
Klots, A. 1942. North American Crambus (Pyralididae). 2, New species.
American Museum Novitates 1191. p. 4; fig 4.
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