Nomophila nearctica
Encyclopedia
The Lucerne Moth, Clover Nomophila, False Webworm, Celery Stalkworm or American Celery Webworm (Nomophila nearctica) is a moth
of the Crambidae
family. It is known from southern Canada
and all of the United States
, south to Mexico
and the Neotropics.
The wingspan
is 24-35 mm. When at rest, adults keep their wings overlapped and hugged against the abdomen, giving a long and narrow profile. The forewing is elongate, grayish-brown with two side-by-side dark oval spots near the middle of the wing, and another dark bilobed spot a little farther out. The hindwings are much broader. They are pale brownish-gray with a whitish fringe.
Adults are on wing from April to November in North America.
The larvae feed on celery, grasses, lucerne, Medicago sativa, Polygonum
, Melilotus and various other low-growing herbaceous plants. The They have a black head. The abdomen is variably light brown to dark gray with a bumpy surface and sparse long hairs and a thin dark dorsal line bordered by narrow pale strip.
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 Crambidae
Crambidae
The Crambidae are the grass moth family of Lepidoptera . They are quite variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae taking up closely folded postures on grass-stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies include brightly coloured and patterned insects which rest in...
family. It is known from southern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and all of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, south to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the Neotropics.
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 24-35 mm. When at rest, adults keep their wings overlapped and hugged against the abdomen, giving a long and narrow profile. The forewing is elongate, grayish-brown with two side-by-side dark oval spots near the middle of the wing, and another dark bilobed spot a little farther out. The hindwings are much broader. They are pale brownish-gray with a whitish fringe.
Adults are on wing from April to November in North America.
The larvae feed on celery, grasses, lucerne, Medicago sativa, Polygonum
Polygonum
Polygonum is a genus in the Polygonaceae family. Common names include knotweed, knotgrass, bistort, tear-thumb, mile-a-minute, and several others. In the Middle English glossary of herbs "Alphita" , it was known as ars-smerte. There have been various opinions about how broadly the genus should be...
, Melilotus and various other low-growing herbaceous plants. The They have a black head. The abdomen is variably light brown to dark gray with a bumpy surface and sparse long hairs and a thin dark dorsal line bordered by narrow pale strip.