Eastern Grass-veneer Moth, Crambus laqueatellus, Hodges #5378 [2]

Not much to say about these common snout moths except they are very adept at hiding, under leaves or twigs. They can be very unobtrusive and their camouflage is actually quite effective. Identification: Adult: forewing light brownish-yellow with white streak along costa completely bisected by thin brown longitudinal strip; dark streaks extend inward from lower half of outer margin [lacks a separately-dotted terminal line]; upper half of ST line is an oblique convex arc, and lower half is a concave arc - the two halves forming a curved point where they meet, resembling the crest of a wave; hindwing medium gray with white fringe and some white shading near base and along inner margin. The grass-veneer moth ranges from Ontario and Maine to South Carolina, west to Texas, north to North Dakota. They fly April to September. Larvae feed on grass and moss. See Also: Crambus saltuellus forewing has a smoothly-angled ST line, prominent double black lines from PM to ST line, and a terminal line that breaks into separate dots in lower half of wing. Double-banded Grass-veneer (C. agitatellus) forewing has a white stripe that may sometimes be partially bisected by a faint yellowish strip but never completely bisected by a brown longitudinal strip. Whitmer's Sod Webworm Moth (C. whitmerellus) forewing has two white patches in subterminal area, a prominent V-shaped subterminal line, and occurs mainly in the Rocky Mountains. [1]

References Tom Murray, jvandyk, Robin McLeod, Bugguide.net, Species Crambus laqueatellus - Eastern Grass-veneer - Hodges#5378 Bob Paterson, Moth Photographer's Group, Bugguide.net

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