Crambus
| Crambus | |
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| Crambus lathoniellus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Crambidae |
| Subfamily: | Crambinae |
| Genus: |
Crambus Fabricius, 1798 |
| Type species | |
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Phalaena pascuella Linnaeus, 1758 |
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| Synonyms | |
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The genus Crambus includes around 155 species of moths in the family Crambidae distributed globally. The adult stages are called snout moths (a name shared with the rest of the family Crambidae), while the larvae of Crambus and the related genus Herpetogramma are the sod webworms, which can damage grasses.
Sod webworms have a bivoltine life cycle with four stages: egg, larva, pupa and imago (adult). They overwinter as larvae in their final or penultimate instar in the thatch or soil. With the coming of warmer weather, the larvae will pupate, and moths will appear in late spring or early summer. The first generation of eggs is laid in June, with larvae appearing in June and lasting until July. Adult moths appear from July until August. Under favorable conditions, a second generation will occur, with the adult stage laying eggs in early October.
The eggs of Crambus species are dry and nonadhesive, with an oval to elliptical shape. The eggs of most species are white to creamy white when first laid, but later turn bright orange or red. The size of the eggs varies between species, but ranges from 0.3 mm to 0.6 mm.
The color of the larvae also varies from greenish to beige, brown, or gray, with most larvae having dark, circular spots that extend over the entire body. From the first instar to the third instar, the head capsule will appear black, but later instars have a light brown head capsule with various black sculpturation. At the first instar, the head capsule is 0.19–0.23 mm wide, growing to 1.23–2.21 mm by the last instar. The length of whole larvae is 9–13 mm (0.4–0.5 in) at the first instar and 24–28 mm (0.9–1.1 in) at the last instar.
Crambus larvae, known as "sod webworms", feed primarily on grasses. In turfgrass species, their primary host plants are cool-season grasses, with fewer records on warm-season grasses. Some species also feed on maize, wheat, rye, oats, timothy-grass, and other grasses in pastures, and meadows, with the most damage occurring in areas with permanent sod. The damage caused is more pronounced during times of drought.
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Wikipedia