Faveria tritalis
Couchgrass Webworm at Conder, ACT
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| Faveria tritalis | GlennCocking | 1 Nov 2017 | |
| Faveria tritalis | GlennCocking | 1 Nov 2017 | |
| Unverified | MichaelBedingfield | 5 Sep 2017 |
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User's notes
Conder, ACT
6 comments
8 Sep 2017
Michael, I suspect this is quite possibly Culladia cuneiferellus, a pyralid snout moth in the Crambidae family (widespread in eastern Australia, inc' ACT, Norfolk Is and NZ, associated with couch grass) based on the strong similarity this photo has with several images from life on the ALA website, see also at http://www.bowerbird.org.au/observations/34850, but most diagnostic images show the forewings opened out, not wrapped tightly likes this, where few of the features of the species are evident. I suspect you won't have other photos of this moth, but they would possibly help.
8 Sep 2017
Ian, I have no other images. I can say that moths like this are very common and are attracted to the lights at night. Due to their small size they are hard to photograph and they usually have their wings folded in the same manner as the photo.
8 Sep 2017
Yes, I've observed them myself. This species features on websites about controlling pests on planted sportsgrounds, so if my suggested ID is correct you'd expect it to be common throughout urban Canberra.
1 Nov 2017
This is another Faviera tritalis. It's been reported 2 other times recently, and is very common in grasslands. This specimen was difficult to identify as only a few of the specimens, females, have the white scaling that this one shows so clearly. Most specimens are a much plainer yellow-brown.
2 Nov 2017
Yes, I have been a steep learning curve regarding especially these cryptic moths in Canberra's grasslands. Clearly though, we seem now to be rapidly getting a better handle on the diversity that exists (at least on CNM). Given quite an effort by ACT Government has been invested in creating nature reserves and managing what good quality grassy woodlands and lowland grasslands we still have here in the ACT, it will be interesting to see what the moth fauna eventually looks like.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.101285-35.464646
- Altitude 630.0m
- Maps MichaelBedingfied's Home Garden
- Places Conder, ACT
Sighting information
- At least 1 Abundance
- 27 Feb 2015 10:31 PM Recorded on
- MichaelBedingfield Recorded by
- 12mm to 25mm Animal size
Collections
- MichaelBedingfield Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Faveria tritalis Pyralid or Snout Moths (Pyralidae & Crambidae) Moths (Lepidoptera) Insects
Species information
- Faveria tritalis Scientific name
- Couchgrass Webworm Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1629m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information
Record quality
Quality score
5 / 7
- Images or audio
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- Description
- Additional attributes
- More than one media file
- GPS evidence of location