Calamotropha paludella (Hübner, 1824)
Bulrush Veneer
(one synonym is Chilo parramattellus Meyrick, 1879)
Bulrush Veneer
CRAMBINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans,
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Calamotropha paludella
(Photo: courtesy of Ian F. Smith)

The Caterpillar of this species is pale brown with dark jaws. It bores into a leaf or stem of its foodplant:

  • Bulrush ( Typha species, TYPHACEAE ).

    The caterpillar grows to a length of about 2 cms.

    Calamotropha paludella
    (Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    The adult moth has pale brown forewings each with a variable dark spot near the middle, and a submarginal series of dark spots forming an asymmetric chevron. The hindwings are off-white with dark edges. The sexes are similar to each other, except the females are paler, and the male is usually larger. In its natural posture, the moths wraps its wings around its body, belying its extensive wing area. The wingspan is about 2.5 cms.

    Calamotropha paludella
    (Photo: courtesy of CSIRO/BIO Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph)

    The species has been found all over the world, including

  • Great Britain,
  • Greece,
  • Japan,
  • Madagascar,
  • Russia,
  • Sweden,

    Calamotropha paludella
    male, drawing by Jacob Hübner, listed as Tinea paludella,

    Tineae II, Pyralidiformes B, Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge,
    Volume VIII, Plate 68, fig. 452,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University.

    and also Australia in

  • Queensland,
  • New South Wales,
  • Victoria,
  • Tasmania,
  • South Australia, and
  • Western Australia.

    Calamotropha paludella
    female, drawing by Jacob Hübner, listed as Tinea paludella,

    Tineae II, Pyralidiformes B, Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge,
    Volume VIII, Plate 68, fig. 453,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University.


    Further reading :

    Jacob Hübner,
    Tineae II, Pyralidiformes B, etc.,
    Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge,
    Volume 8 (1824), Plate 68, figs. 452-453.

    Edward Meyrick,
    Descriptions of Australian Micro-lepidoptera I Crambites,
    Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales,
    Series 1, Volume 3, Part 3 (1879), p. 178.


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    (updated 6 June 2011, 3 May 2018, 30 August 2019, 29 December 2020)