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Species Crambus bidens - Forked Grass-veneer - Hodges#5342

Forked Grass-veneer - Crambus bidens Forked Grass-veneer - Crambus bidens Crambus bidens? - Crambus bidens Biden's Grass-veneer (5342) - Crambus bidens Forked Grass-veneer - Crambus bidens Moth sp - Crambus bidens Crambus bidens Forked Grass-Veneer (Crambus bidens) - Crambus bidens
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 Crambinae (Crambine Snout Moths)
Tribe Crambini (Grass-Veneers)
Genus Crambus
Species bidens (Forked Grass-veneer - Hodges#5342)
Hodges Number
5342
Explanation of Names
BIDENS: two possibilities...
1. might refer to the Latin "bi; bis" (two; twice) + "dens; dentis" (a tooth); the adult's forewing has a white streak whose distal end forks into two "teeth" - this might be the origin of the common name Forked Grass-veneer (proposed by Jason Dombroskie in a checklist of moths of Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario)
2. might refer to the beggarticks genus Bidens, a possible larval foodplant, but this U. of Alberta page states that the larval host is unknown (and most other species of Crambus feed on grasses)
Size
wingspan 18-22 mm
Identification
Adult: forewing yellowish to brownish with very wide white stripe sometimes bisected by brown longitudinal strip; upper edge of stripe almost touches costa, and lower edge has prominent tooth about two-thirds distance from base; oblique white spot at costa inside subterminal line, but otherwise no white patch between stripe and ST line; terminal area with white patch midway along outer margin; hindwing creamy white with pale brownish shading; fringe white
Range
northeastern United States and southeastern Canada: Quebec and Maine to Maryland, west to Ontario, Michigan, and perhaps Wisconsin, plus disjunct population in Alberta near Edmonton
Habitat
mainly in northern bogs; adults are nocturnal and come to light
Season
adults fly in July and August
Food
larvae (and their foodplant) are unknown, according to U. of Alberta
John Hilty's page from Illinois says larvae feed on Bidens species, but gives no literature reference, so I wonder whether this is a guess based on the specific epithet - see Explanation of Names section above
See Also
Watson's Grass-veneer forewing has a large white spindle-shaped dash at the end of the stripe
Leach's Grass-veneer forewing stripe is shaped differently, lacks a prominent tooth, and often extends into subterminal area
Common Grass-veneer forewing stripe does not come close to touching costa
Eastern Grass-veneer forewing has two white stripes that lack a prominent tooth
Double-banded Grass-veneer and Crambus saltuellus forewings have double black streaks beyond and below the white stripe, and a white patch between lower ST line and white stripe (lacking in C. bidens)
Internet References
pinned adult image by Charles Bird, plus habitat, flight season, description, distribution (Strickland Entomological Museum, U. of Alberta)
live adult image (Steve Nanz, Maine)
live and pinned adult images by various photographers (Moth Photographers Group)
pinned adult image (Larry Line, Maryland)
possible presence in Wisconsin; list - the list doesn't indicate that specimens were collected locally (U. of Wisconsin)
presence in Michigan; PDF doc list (Mogens Nielsen, Preliminary List of Michigan Moths, U. of Michigan)
presence in Ontario; list (NHIC; Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources)