Moths of North Carolina
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7 NC Records

Crambus quinquareatus Zeller, 1877 - Large-striped Grass-veneer Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Pyraloidea Family: CrambidaeSubfamily: CrambinaeTribe: CrambiniP3 Number: 800957.00 MONA Number: 5369.00
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.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: In this species the palps, head, thorax and ground color of the forewings are concolorous and golden-brown. The most conspicuous feature is a silvery white stripe on the costal half of the wing that begins at the wing base and terminates at or just before the subterminal line. The stripe is relatively uniform in width and often has a poorly formed tooth on the dorsal side near the midpoint. The stripe tapers off rather abruptly to a point, and is separated from the costa by a thin line of dark golden brown that progressively widens from the wing base to the subterminal region. The subterminal line is silvery and margined inwardly with a thin line of dark-brown scales. It runs obliquely outward from the costa for the first third of its length where it meets a large, white, triangular patch that is immediately posterior to the longitudinal stripe and borders the dark-brown to blackish terminal line apically. It then angles to run roughly parallel to the outer margin to the sub-tornal region. The white patch may be either separated from the longitudinal stripe, or fused with it to produce a single long stripe that extends from the wing base to the outer margin. The subterminal area that is between the white patch and the tornus is pale gray with dark-brown stippling and has four or five thin black lines that extend inward from the terminal line beginning at the white patch. The fringe is light metallic gray, and the hindwing is white with a white fringe.

Crambus quinquareatus is very similar to C. leachellus, but the latter typically has a white longitudinal stripe that terminates relatively far back from the subterminal line. It also tapers more gradually to a point. The white subterminal patch of C. quinquareatus is often fused with the concolorous white longitudinal stripe, while the subterminal patch of C. leachellus is rarely fused and has a more subdued off white to yellowish color.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larval life history is undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Crambus quinquareatus is found from southern New York southward along the Atlantic Seaboard to southern Florida, and westward along the Gulf Coast states to central Texas, northwestern Arkansas and central Oklahoma. As of 2023, all of our records are from the Coastal Plain, including the Sandhills and coastal communities.
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)

Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: This species has been observed during every month of the year in southern areas such as Florida, and mostly from March through October elsewhere. As of 2023, our limited records range from late-March through late-October. Local populations appears to be multivoltine in North Carolina and in most other areas of the range.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
Larval Host Plants: The host plants are undocumented, but likely are graminoids based on the known hosts of other Crambus species. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and can be flushed from low cover during the day.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S2-S3]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This appears to be a relatively rare species within the state with only four site records as of 2023. We need additional information on its distribution, habitat requirements and larval life history before we can accurately assess it conservation status within the state.

 Photo Gallery for Crambus quinquareatus - Large-striped Grass-veneer Moth

Photos: 6

Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-10-13
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2021-04-17
Onslow Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2020-10-23
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2020-10-23
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2019-06-09
Onslow Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Newman, Randy on 2006-03-31
Carteret Co.
Comment: