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Grape Leaf Folder Moth - Desmia maculalis
Lepidoptera » Pyraloidea » Crambidae »
Pyraustinae » Spilomelini » Desmia -
Hodges #5160)
Live adult moths photographed at Saint Louis, Missouri, USA.
Wingspan = 15 mm |
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Male specimen indicated by the dark-barred antennae |
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The grape leaf folder is a common and widely distributed species
that is a minor pest of grapes in the United States. In California
severe outbreaks have occurred in restricted areas during some
years. These outbreaks have been associated with failures of
parasites to attain their normal levels. In Florida, the grape
leaffolder has done substantial damage to grape leaves in September
and October when growers have discontinued their spray programs
after harvest. Excessive defoliation may deplete the food reserves
in the vine sufficiently to reduce the size of the next crop. This
moth was hiding underneath the leaves in the underbrush - there was
no way to photograph it except lie down on the ground and take
pictures upside down. Yikes. I wish I could have gotten a full-on
shot, but this moth was not cooperating. A very strikingly colored
moth for one so secretive. I suppose that's why it must hide all the
time - it has no camouflage, at least in the setting I saw it.
Perhaps it is camouflaged amongst different plants. |
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Adults have a wingspan of 15 to 25 mm (1 inch or
so). The wings are dark brown, almost black,
with a silvery or bluish iridescence. The
forewings in both sexes have two nearly oval
white spots. The hind wings of the male have one
white bar which in the female is partly or
completely divided into two spots. Both sexes
have various amounts of white on the fringes of
the wings and parts of the head, body, and legs.
The antennae in the male appear thickened and
notched near the middle, while in the female
they are uniform and threadlike. Adults of other
species of Desmia and certain other similar
species in Florida have the white spots of the
wings much more linear or are obviously
different in number of spots or some other
characteristic. |
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