Moths of North Carolina
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34 NC Records

Crambus saltuellus Zeller, 1863 - Pasture Grass-veneer Moth

Crambus saltuellusCrambus saltuellusCrambus saltuellusCrambus saltuellus
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Pyraloidea Family: CrambidaeSubfamily: CrambinaeTribe: CrambiniP3 Number: 80a1573 MONA Number: 5363.00
Comments: The genus Crambus includes around 155 species that are distributed globally. Some of the species are significant pests that can cause damage to agricultural crops, lawns and rangelands. This is one of 41 species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Pohl and Nanz, 2023), and one of fifteen species that occur in North Carolina.
Species Status: This species was regarded as a synonym of agitatellus by Fernald (1896) and Forbes (1923). However, it is considered a valid species by Scholtens and Solis (2015).
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The head and thorax of this species are brownish-yellow, and the palps when viewed from the side are mostly light fuscous with white beneath (Fernald, 1896). The legs are light fuscous above, and the ground color of the forewing varies from brownish-yellow or brownish-orange to brown. The most conspicuous mark is a broad, silvery white, longitudinal stripe that gradually widens as it extends from the wing base to near the middle of the wing, then tapers to a sharp point at around two-thirds the wing length. A small tooth often projects from the dorsal edge at the point where the stripe begins to taper, and the margins are lined with yellowish- to brownish-orange scales. The stripe is divided by a relatively well-developed brownish-yellow to brown line that extends from near the distal tip of the stripe before fading out near the wing base. A V-shaped brownish-yellow to brown subterminal line is present at around four-fifths that is double, or nearly so, with the distal line incomplete or broken on the dorsal half. The space between the lines is filled with silvery scales. In between the subterminal line and the end of the silver band there is a separate large white patch. The patch is bordered above and below with two silvery lines with black edges that alternate with light brownish-yellow lines. The subapical area has a small, triangular, brownish-yellow costal patch and a similar white patch that adjoins the black terminal line that covers the apical third of the outer margin. The remainder of the outer margin has a series of four or five black dots or dashes. The fringe is silvery lead gray, while the hindwing is gray to grayish-white with a paler fringe.

Crambus saltuellus is very similar to C. agitatellus, but has a more prominent brown or brownish-yellow line running through the silver stripe, and has a larger number of dark and silver lines extending out from the upper portion of the silver stripe. In some individuals, dark streaks run close to the inner margin from the base of the wing to the subterminal line (BugGuide, 2018). In addition, the double subterminal line is filled with a line of silvery white scales. In C. agitatellus the silvery line tends to be narrower and relatively obscure, and has a mixture of both silvery and blackish scales, particularly on the costal half.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Local populations are univoltine and the larvae have been reported to feed on grasses based on the affiliation of adults with grassy habitats, but detailed studies of the larval life history are lacking.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Crambus saltuellus is found in the eastern U.S. and adjoining areas of southern Canada (Manitoba; Ontario; Quebec; New Brunswick; Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island). In the U.S. the range extends from Maine to South Carolina and northern Alabama, and westward to northern Louisiana, central Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and northeastern Nebraska. This species is uncommon or absent from most of the southeastern Coastal Plain. As of 2023, we have records from all three physiographic regions, with Coastal Plain records restricted to the Sandhills.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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