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Herpetogramma licarsisalis, the grass webworm or pale sod-webworm, is a moth in the subfamily Spilomelinae of the family Crambidae.

Herpetogramma licarsisalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Crambidae
Genus:	Herpetogramma
Species:	H. licarsisalis
Binomial name
Herpetogramma licarsisalis (Walker, 1859)
Synonyms
Botys licarsisalis Walker, 1859 Botys pharaxalis Walker, 1859 Botys immundalis Walker, 1866 Entephria fumidalis Walker, 1866 Botys serotinalis De Joannis, 1889 Botys abstrusalis Walker, 1859

It is distributed in most of the Old World tropics, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Togo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Réunion, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, the Philippines, New Caledonia, Australia,[1][2] and New Zealand.^{[citation needed]} It is an introduced species in many other parts of the world, including Hawaii,[3] continental Spain and the Canary Islands, Portugal, Great Britain,[1] Turkey,[4] Cyprus,[2] India and Sri Lanka.^{[citation needed]}

The flat, elliptical eggs are deposited singly or in masses on the leaf blade's upper surface along the midrib. The caterpillars hatch after 4-6 days and undergo five instars in the following 14 days. First instar larvae are characterised by a black head capsule, whereas later instars have a brown head capsule. Mature larvae are green to brown, sometimes with a rose tint. Full-grown larvae are about 20 mm long. Pupation occurs in a loosely-woven hibernaculum and takes about 7.3 days. After eclosion from the pupa, the adult moths live for about 13 days. The moth's wingspan is about 24 mm. The species is strictly nocturnal, with all major developmental steps (mating, egg laying, hatching of the young larvae, larval feeding, moulting, pupation and eclosion) taking place at night.[3]

The species is a pest of turf and pastures in some parts of its distribution range. The larvae feed on various grasses of the family Poaceae such as Cenchrus clandestinus, Cynodon dactylon, Echinochloa crus-galli, Ischaemum, Lolium perenne, Oryza sativa, Panicum, Paspalum dilatatum, Pennisetum, Sorghum and Zea mays, as well as on Acanthus ebracteatus in the Acanthaceae, Gomphrena globosa in the Amaranthaceae, Nephelium lappaceum in the Sapindaceae, Senna siamea in the Fabaceae, and the king fern Angiopteris evecta in the Marattiaceae.[1][2][4] The larvae live in a tube made of the leaves of their food plant lined with silk.[1]

References

External links

• Australian Insects
• UKmoths

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