Pseudobissetia terrestrella

• Subfamily: Crambinae
• Wingspan: 23-27 mm
• Flight period: Unknow
• Spread:Uncommon
• Host plants: Zea mays

Information

The Pseudobissetia terrestrella is a moth of the Crambidae family, subfamily Crambinae, with a wingspan of 23-27 mm.
In Europe it is not very widespread in fact we find it in Spain, Romania and Bulgaria. In 2008 it was reported in Hungary **** and in 2011 it was also reported in Denmark. **
In Italy it is absent from the islands. *
Outside of Europe it can be found in Tunisia, Jordan, Syria, Iran, Transkaspia, Turkmenia, Bukhara and Turkmenistan. ***

The front wings vary from light ocher to light brown with intense black dusting that thin out near the edge. The shape of the wing is slightly pointed and distinguishes it from other similar species of the same subfamily. A thin dark line is visible along the margin; the wing is fringed in the background color of the wing. In the sub marginal area a clear line sometimes marked in black may be visible along the veins.
The hind wings are white, silky, with light brown dusting, a thin line is visible along the edge, they are also fringed in white.

Typical habitats are mainly saline areas, meadows, open sand steppes with Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine), woods and saline pastures, on the edge of agricultural land. ****
The pinkish white larva, when mature, has darker dorsal lines, transparent ocher the central one and purplish the others, lives inside the stems of the host plant where it impupa.

The larvae feed on Zea mays (maize).

The origin of Pseudobissetia terrestrella is Central Asia and Iran and is currently not present in the American continet. It follows that the species already had other food plants before the discovery of America and the arrival of corn in Europe. Potential food plants appear to be Phragmites australis, Oryza sativa or Typha spp. ****.


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Naturhistoriska riksmuseet - http://www2.nrm.se/en/svenska_fjarilar/p/pseudobissetia_terrestrella.html
*** Savela, Markku. "Metacrambus Guenée, 1845". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. - http://ftp.funet.fi/
**** Microlepidoptera.hu A magyar Microlepidoptera kutatások hírei - http://www.microlepidoptera.hu/2011_pdf/microlepidoptera.hu_3_30-09-2011_ed.pdf