Hawaiian Beet Webworm

Description:

Crambidae; Spilomelinae; Spoladea recurvalis (Fabricius, 1775) Wikipedia provides this excellent brief, but comprehensive narrative which pretty much says it all: "Spoladea recurvalis, the beet webworm moth or Hawaiian beet webworm, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It is found worldwide, but mainly in the tropics. The wingspan is 22–24 mm. The moth flies from May to September depending on the location. The larvae feed on spinach, beet, cotton, maize and soybean. They feed on the underside of the leaves protected by a slight web. The larvae are green and resemble the ribs of the leaf somewhat. When fully grown, they are about 19 mm long. The pupa is formed within a slight cocoon in a folded piece of leaf. It is very pale brown. The pupal period lasts about 12 days."

Habitat:

Spotted in a rice field which was overgrown with foliage and grasses just a few days before it was due to be ploughed for planting the rice seedlings.