Pasture Grass-veneer (5363)

Crambus saltuellus

Family Crambidae, subfamily Crambinae
Photograph copyright by Tony Leukering

31 May 2012

near Whitesboro

CMMP block S07
Distribution map

The grass-veneers are a difficult group of micro-lepidoptera (microleps), which, themselves, form a difficult group of moths. Microleps are the Empidonax or peeps or gulls of the mothing world, with quite a few moth enthusiasts giving them short shrift or ignoring them altogether. It might have been expected that I find at least some of them -- particularly the grass-veneers -- enticing. The genus Crambus is the type genus of the Crambidae, a surprisingly varied group of very small moths. The 97 species of Crambid illustrated in Beadle and Leckie (see first post on this blog) range in size from 4 mm to 38 mm in length, with most under 15 mm. Just so you know, there are 25.4 mm in an inch.

The grass-veneers form a fairly tight group in the subfamily Crambinae; they are generally long and thin, with long, fuzzy palps extending forward from the face, with the hulking monster of the group (at least of those illustrated in Beadle and Leckie) maxing at a whopping 18 mm. By contrast, this post's subject, Pasture Grass-veneer, averages only 14 mm. Most species for which we know the host plant(s) eat grass as larvae (caterpillars). As adults, they tend to be found in grassy places, perched lengthwise on the underside of a grass leaf (as above). Many of the species have wings with extensive white, which is evident when one gets flushed. If one lands on a horizontal perch (such as the broad leaf of some plant other than grass), it quickly runs to the edge and crawls to the underside of the leaf, there to hide until the next large animal disturbs it. Grass-veneers are also regular visitors to lights, so look for their tiny forms among the hulking brutes of what some term the "regular moths."