Hymenia perspectalis (Hübner, 1796)
Spotted Beet Webworm Moth
(one synonym : Zinckenia primordialis Zeller, 1852)
SPILOMELINAE,   CRAMBIDAE,   PYRALOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Stella Crossley

Hymenia perspectalis
(Photo: courtesy of Buck Richardson, Kuranda, Queensland)

The Caterpillars of this species are a minor international pest on:

  • Beet ( Beta vulgaris, CHENOPODIACEAE ),

    as well as feeding on various plants such as:

  • Spiny Saltbush ( Rhagodia spinescens, CHENOPODIACEAE ),
  • Water Hemp ( Amaranthus deflexus, AMARANTHACEAE ), and
  • Giant Pigweed ( Trianthema portulacastrum, AIZOACEAE ).

    Hymenia perspectalis
    drawing by Jacob Hübner, listed as Pyralis perspectalis
    ,
    Pyralides, Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge,
    Volume 6 (1813), Plate 16, fig. 101,
    image courtesy of Biodiversity Heritage Library, digitized by Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University.

    The adult moth is dark brown with variable markings. The forewings can have a pattern darker brown and either white or paler brown markings. The hindwings each have a ragged white stripe. The body is brown with white bands. The legs are white, with black bands on the forelegs. The moth has a wingspan of about 2 cms.

    The species has been found all over the world, including :

  • Belize,
  • Jamaica,
  • New Gunea,
  • South Africa,
  • Taiwan,
  • USA,

    as well as in Australia in

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


    Further reading :

    Peter Hendry,
    Hymenia perspectalis (Hubner, 1796) possible new host plant,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 73 (June 2014), pp. 25-26.

    Jacob Hübner,
    Pyralides,
    Sammlung Europäischer Schmetterlinge,
    Volume 6 (1813), Plate 16, fig. 101.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 40.


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    (updated 17 August 2013, 15 July 2024)