Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
14 synonyms are listed at
All-Leps
North American subspecies is C. p. innotatellus
specific epithet also spelled perlella
Size
winspan 20-24 mm in Alberta; 21-28 mm in Europe
Identification
Adult: forewing completely white with satin lustre; hindwing white or pale yellowish-gray
Range
northern United States and southern Canada: Nova Scotia to Massachusetts, west to California and British Columbia
several other subspecies occur in the Old World from Europe and north Africa to Japan and China
Habitat
fields, grasslands; adults may be active during the day but are also nocturnal and come to light
Season
adults fly from June to August
Food
larvae feed on roots and stem bases of grasses such as
Sheep Fescue (
Festuca ovina) and
Wavy Hairgrass (
Deschampsia flexuosa)
Life Cycle
overwinters as a larva in silken gallery in base of grasss stems; pupation occurs in silken cocoon on or partly in the soil; adults emerge in summer; one generation per year
Remarks
common name reference: Checklist of Moths of Algonquin Provincial Park, 2005, Jason Dombroskie, Ontario (RM has unpublished hard copy of database file)
status in Algonquin Park is given as common at the west and east gates
See Also
Some other mostly white Crambini species look similar:
In the west (and in Europe), the tortricid moth Eana argentana is superficially similar
Internet References
pinned adult image by Charles Bird, plus habitat, flight season, description, foodplant, distribution (Strickland Entomological Museum, U. of Alberta)
live adult image of European subspecies by Andy Musgrove, plus description, foodplants, flight season (Ian Kimber, UK Moths)
live adult image of European subspecies (Keith Tailby, UK)
foodplants plus adult images, links to other images, Eurasian subspecies, synonyms, references (Markku Savela, FUNET)
biology and flight season plus live adult image of European subspecies by Maaren Jacobs (Catologue of the Lepidoptera of Belgium)