''Microcrambus elegans'', the elegant grass-veneer moth, 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 ...

which was first described in 1860 by

James Brackenridge Clemens James Brackenridge Clemens (31 January 1825, in Wheeling, West Virginia – 11 January 1867, in Easton, Pennsylvania) was an American entomologist who specialized in Lepidoptera. He described many new species. His collection of microlepidoptera is ...

. Adults are on wing from June to August in the north and from March to October in the south. There is one generation per year in the north and multiple in the south.

Description

''M. elegans'' has silvery-white wings which are shaded with brown in some areas. Adults rest with their wings tightly folded, forming a tube-like shape. From a top-down perspective, they have a "Halloween-mask" like pattern, with two triangular "eyes" and a frowning down-curved "mouth". Another characteristic trait of the species is the seven black dots at the lowermost edge of the forewings. Their

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 of ...

is 12–15 mm. Their antennae are threadlike and slender. The sensory tympanal organs attached to the mouth are long and hairy, creating a snout-like appearance which is common in the

Crambinae Crambinae is a large subfamily of the lepidopteran family Crambidae, the crambid snout moths. It currently includes over 1,800 species worldwide. The larvae are root feeders or stem borers, mostly on grasses. A few species are pests of sod grass ...

subfamily.

Range and Habitat

''M. elegans'' is found from

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, west to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, north to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. They are most commonly observed in grassy areas.

Ecology

The larvae feed on grasses in the family

Poaceae Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

References

External links

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Bug GuideImages
Crambini Moths described in 1860 Moths of North America {{Crambini-stub