Chilo phragmitella
Species of moth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Chilo phragmitella is a species of moth of the family Crambidae, sometimes referred to by the vernacular names wainscot veneer[1] or reed veneer.[2] It was first described by Jacob Hübner between 1805 and 1810 as Tinea phragmitella, and is the type species of the genus Chilo.[3]
| Chilo phragmitella | |
|---|---|
| |
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Crambidae |
| Genus: | Chilo |
| Species: | C. phragmitella |
| Binomial name | |
| Chilo phragmitella (Hübner, 1805) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Chilo phragmitella occurs in wetland habitats with reed beds and paddy fields, and can be found in much of Europe, including Great-Britain, and parts of Asia.
Original description
Date of original description
The species was, as Tinea phragmitella,[4] first described by Jacob Hübner in his work Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge,[3] a multi-volume work with publication dates from 1793 to 1841.[5] Francis Hemming, in his 1937 systematic treatment[a] of the entomological works of Jacob Hübner, narrowed the range of years in which the description of Tinea phragmitella may have been published to 1805–1810.[5]
Etymology
The specific name phragmitella refers to the species' larval food source.[6]
Distribution and habitat
Behaviour and appearance
Immature stages
Larvae are whitish and feed internally from stem and rootstock of common reed (Phragmites australis) and reed sweet-grass (Glyceria maxima).[7][11] Larvae take two years to mature.[12][13] Prior to pupation, the larva creates a hole in the stem to exit from as moth. Pupation occurs within the stem beneath the exit created by the larva.[7][14]
Adult
Adults are sexually dimorphic, with smaller, darker males. Wingspan is respectively 24–32 mm for males and 30–40 mm for females.[7] Both sexes have long labial palpi.[11] Female specimens of Chilo phragmitella may resemble those of Donacaula forficella.[6]
In Great-Britain, adults are on wing from June to July in a single generation.[7]
Handbook of British Lepidoptera
The following description of Chilo phragmitella was published in Edward Meyrick's 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera:[15]
The face with a conical horny projection. The labial palpi longer than head and thorax. Forewings in female much narrower and more acute than in male; pale ochreous, more or less suffused with brown, especially in male, tending to form dark streaks on and between veins; a dark fuscous discal dot; termen sinuate. Hindwings are pale whitish-ochreous or whitish, The larva is ochreous -whitish; dorsal, subdorsal, and lateral lines reddish -brown; head and plate of 2 yellowish -brown.
See also Parsons et al.[16]
