Merophyas divulsana
Encyclopedia
The Lucerne Leaf Roller (Merophyas divulsana) is a species of moth
of the Tortricidae
family. It is found over the whole of Australia
and has also been spotted in New Zealand
.
The wingspan
is about 15 mm.
The larvae are considered a pest on various crops and herbaceous garden plants, including Medicago sativa, Daucus carota, Lactuca sativa, Lonicera japonica, Sclerolaena muricata, Pelargonium x zonale, Mentha spicata and Rumex
species.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Tortricidae
Tortricidae
Tortricidae is a family of moths, commonly known as tortrix moths, in the order Lepidoptera. Tortricidae is a large family with over 9,400 species described, and is the sole member of the superfamily Tortricoidea. Many of these are economically important pests. Olethreutidae is a junior synonym...
family. It is found over the whole of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and has also been spotted in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is about 15 mm.
The larvae are considered a pest on various crops and herbaceous garden plants, including Medicago sativa, Daucus carota, Lactuca sativa, Lonicera japonica, Sclerolaena muricata, Pelargonium x zonale, Mentha spicata and Rumex
Rumex
The docks and sorrels, genus Rumex L., are a genus of about 200 species of annual, biennial and perennial herbs in the buckwheat family Polygonaceae....
species.