''Hellula undalis'', the cabbage webworm or Old World webworm, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Crambidae The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...

. It is a widespread species which is found from Europe across Asia to the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. It was first described from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

is about 18 mm. Adult moths have fawn forewings, each with sinuous pale lines and a kidney-shaped mark. The hindwings are a uniform grey darkening at the margins. The larvae feed on a wide range of plants, mainly of the family

Brassicaceae Brassicaceae () or (the older) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some are shrubs. The leav ...

. Recorded food plants include broccoli, crucifers, head cabbage, Chinese cabbage, spoon cabbage, daikon radish, horseradish, mustard, radish and turnip. It is considered a serious agricultural pest. The larvae initially bore into the stem of growing shoots, later instars

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

the leaves and leaf stems. It makes a web of silk around the feeding area which accumulates

frass Frass refers loosely to the more or less solid excreta of insects, and to certain other related matter. Definition and etymology ''Frass'' is an informal term and accordingly it is variously used and variously defined. It is derived from the ...

. The caterpillar is 12–15 mm long and is whitish with pinkish-brown longitudinal stripes. Pupation occurs within this silken shelter. The pupa is formed in a loose cocoon of webbed-together particles of soil or other matter and is about 8 mm long, shining pale brown with a dark stripe on the back.

References

External links

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UKMothsFauna EuropaeaImage of the Larva
Glaphyriini Moths of Africa Moths of Europe Moths of the Middle East Moths of Cape Verde Moths of the Comoros Moths of Japan Moths of Madagascar Moths of Mauritius Moths of New Zealand Moths of Réunion Moths of Seychelles Moths of Asia Moths described in 1794 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius {{Glaphyriinae-stub