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Herpetogramma licarsisalis
Very dark brown moth, 2cm wingspan. Herpetogramma licarsisalis (Walker, 1859), called the Grass Webworm or Tropical Grass Webworm, is a moth of the Crambidae family. The adult webworm is a drab fawn coloured moth, sometimes with dark spots scattered over its 10-15mm wide delta shaped wings. It is native to most of the old world tropics, including New Zealand, Hong Kong and Queensland. The webworm probably arrived in New Zealand naturally as a moth travelling on the trans-Tasman jet streams. It is also found in tropical parts of Asia, including Philippines, and other Pacific countries. It is an introduced species in many other parts of the world. It is a serious pest in Hawaii where natural control methods have been effectively introduced.
Spotted on the ceiling of the garage.
Reference: http://ento.org.nz/nzentomologist/free_i.... http://www.nrc.govt.nz/Environment/Weed-.... https://photoplusbyritasim.wordpress.com....
Thanks a lot Nuwan!. You led me to its species ID - Herpetogramma licarsisalis, the Tropical Grass Webworm (http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herpetogram...). I have also confirmed of its occurrence in the Philippines (http://ento.org.nz/nzentomologist/free_i...). Thanks again! :)
Spotted on Oct 31, 2012
Submitted on Nov 1, 2012
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