Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Genus Herpetogramma

Serpentine Webworm Moth - Herpetogramma aeglealis Moth - Herpetogramma 5274 Dusky Herpetogramma Moth  - Herpetogramma phaeopteralis Unidentified Moth-2-20120711 - Herpetogramma 5279 - Herpetogramma theseusalis Herpetogramma - Herpetogramma abdominalis Herpetogramma Herpetogramma - Herpetogramma aquilonalis
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 Pyraloidea (Pyralid and Crambid Snout Moths)
Family Crambidae (Crambid Snout Moths)
Subfamily Spilomelinae
Tribe Herpetogrammatini
Genus Herpetogramma
Other Common Names
larvae commonly called webworms, sod webworms, or grass webworms
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Herpetogramma Lederer, 1863; Wien. ent. Monats. 7 (12): 430
Numbers
Ten species in our area. (1)
Range
represented throughout North America, Eurasia, Australia, New Zealand, Central and South America
Habitat
pastures, fields, lawns
Food
Some of the larvae feed on grasses, but Herpetogramma spp are not restricted to grasses - at least 3 of the species in North America are fern feeders, and I believe there is an aster-feeder, as well. Eric LoPresti, 7/28/2012
One was raised on wild ginger,

another on wood nettle (Laportea canadensis).
Print References
Solis, M. A. 2010: North American Herpetogramma Lederer, 1863 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Spilomelinae): type specimens and identity of species in the United States and Canada. – Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 112 (3): 451–463. (2)
Internet References
live larva image of the tropical sod webworm, H. phaeopteralis (turfgrass.com)
Works Cited
1.Annotated check list of the Pyraloidea (Lepidoptera) of America North of Mexico
Scholtens, B.G., Solis, A.M. 2015. ZooKeys 535: 1–136. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.535.6086.
2.North American Herpetogramma (Lederer), 1863 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Spilomelinae): type specimens and ...
M. Alma Solis. 2010. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 112(3): 451-463.