Faveria tritalis

Couchgrass Webworm at Conder, ACT

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Identification history

Faveria tritalis	1 Nov 2017	GlennCocking
Faveria tritalis	1 Nov 2017	GlennCocking
Unidentified	5 Sep 2017	michaelb

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User's notes

Conder, ACT

6 comments

ibaird wrote:

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.

michaelb wrote:

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.

ibaird wrote:

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.

GlennCocking wrote:

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.

ibaird wrote:

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.

michaelb wrote:

9 Nov 2017

Spelling corrected to Faveria tritalis.

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