Crambus perlellus

• Subfamily: Crambinae
• Wingspan: 20-28 mm
• Flight period: May - Sep
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Poaceae

Information

The Crambus perlellus also called Satin Grass-veneer is a moth of the Crambidae family, subfamily Crambinae, with a wingspan of 20-28 mm.
In Europe it is visible practically everywhere except in Ukraine. In Italy it is present in Sardinia but not in Sicily. *

Typically it has the upper page of the front wings of white color, with a silky sheen, up to the fringes. The lower page is dark gray, with the exclusion of part of the costa and the fringes. There is also another form that presents intense brown-gray dusting along the wings f. warringtonellus **, which in some specimens can cover the wings entirely.
The hind wings are translucent white, with more or less intense brown shades along the edge.

Univoltine, this moth flies from May to September in southern latitudes and can be found in meadows and grazing areas. The adults feed on the nectar of Leucanthemum species. Nymphosis occurs just below the ground level. The larva is light gray with light shades, green or pink , the head and prothoracic shield are light brown, with markings and spots, brown. On the mature larva, raised light brown spots are visible on each segment.

The larvae feed on the grass stem bases of Festuca and Deschampsia flexuosa.


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** https://norfolkmoths.co.uk/