Other Common Names
Bluegrass Webworm (larva)
Bluegrass Sod Webworm Moth (adult)
Bluegrass Sod Webworm (larva)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Parapediasia teterrellus (Zincken, 1821)
Chilo teterrellus Zincken, 1821
Crambus camurellus Clemens, 1860
Crambus teterrellus
Size
Forewing length 7-10 mm.
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Mature larva length 15-20 mm
Identification
Adult - mouthparts project foreward from head to form a snout; forewing variably pale brown to medium brownish-gray with jagged PM line, often having two large "teeth"; two dark gray or blackish streaks or blotches in medial area usually extend into the "teeth" of the PM line; ST line smooth and mostly straight, running parallel to outer margin for about two-thirds its length, then angling basally before reaching costa; terminal line dark, thin, edged proximally by several black dots; fringe pale brown; hindwing brownish-gray, more than twice as broad as forewing, with pale fringe.
Larva - head dark gray; body greenish-gray with series of spots forming ring around each abdominal segment.
(3)Range
Ontario and New England to Florida, west to California, north to Nebraska.
Habitat
Lawns, golf courses, grassy areas in general; adults may be flushed from grass during the day but are crepuscular/nocturnal and attracted to light.
Season
Bivoltine
On Block Island, RI, the first generation flying mainly early June to early July and the second early August to early September.
(4)Food
Larvae were reared on a variety of grasses with a pronounced preference for
Kentucky Bluegrass (
Poa pratensis).
(3)Life Cycle
Multivoltine; overwinters as a mature larva within silk-lined tunnel in soil or thatch; in late spring and again in mid-summer, females drop eggs randomly while flying low over grass; generation time is 4-10 weeks, depending on temperature.
(3)Remarks
One of the first Pyraloid moths recorded in North America!
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