Crocidosema plebejana Zeller, 1847
(one synonym: Penthina altheana)
 EUCOSMINI ,   OLETHREUTINAE ,   TORTRICIDAE

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
and
Dave Britton & Stella Crossley

Crocidosema plebejana
(Photo: copyright of Dave Britton)

These Caterpillars bore into the tips and fruit of plants in the family MALVACEAE, including :

  • Cheeseweed ( Malva parviflora ),
  • Hibiscus,
  • Spotted Flowering Maple ( Abutilon ),
  • Hollyhock ( Althaea ), and
  • Lavatera,

    and is an agricultural pest on

  • Cotton ( Gossypium hirsutum ).

    They have also been found feeding on :

  • Spreading Saltbush ( Atriplex limbata, CHENOPODIACEAE ), and
  • Wheat ( Triticum aestivum, POACEAE ).

    Crocidosema plebejana
    (Picture: courtesy of CSIRO Entomology)

    The adult moths are a pale patchy brown. Their wingspan is about 2 cms.

    The species is found worldwide, including

  • New Zealand,
  • Turkey,
  • U.K.,
  • U.S.A.,
    as well as over the whole of Australia, including:
  • Western Australia,
  • South Australia,
  • Tasmania,
  • Victoria,
  • New South Wales,
  • Queensland, and
  • Northern Territory.

    Further reading :

    Ian F.B. Common,
    Moths of Australia, Melbourne University Press, 1990, fig. 28.4, pp. 68, 280.

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    (updated 2 September 2011)