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Wednesday 23 January 2019

Grass Pyralid

 Faveria tritalis PHYCITINAE PYRALIDAE

 The larval food plants are a variety of grasses (POACEAE), and is considered a pest on Couch Grass ( Cynodon dactylon ).
Wingspan is about 20mm.
As with other moths in PYRALIDAE, the larvae are likely to live in tubular silk shelters near the ground surface, and come out at night.
In the early days of living on this property, the number of grass moths coming to the windows at night in summer would be in the thousands. At the moment we are lucky to get more than a few. The types of grasses in this area have changed from native grasses to imported grasses, mostly Kikuyu, which is African, and are kept closely mown. It looks nice, but does not support the same range of insects.





Family:- PYRALIDAE
Sub Family:- PHYCITINAE
Genus:- Faveria
Species:- tritalis










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Gauna aegusalis PYRALINAE PYRALIDAE 

The larval food is galls on Acacia trees including Acacia decurrens (Mimosaceae), which are caused by the rust fungus Uromycladium tepperianum (PUCCINALES). They burrow into the gall. There are a number of moths from other families which also use the galls as food and living space, while others simply feed on the surface.
The colouring on these moths can vary widely from dull to quite bright redish brown.
A study of the life inside galls is fascinating. Not only do you get the insects living in the gall, but the insect or larvae are often parasitised by other insects.

Wingspan is about 20mm.





Family:- PYRALIDAE
Sub Family:- PYRALINAE
Genus:- Gauna
Species:- aegusalis



















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