Crambidae : Spilomelinae
Cydalima perspectalis
CYDALIMA perspectalis (Walker, 1859)
Cydalima perspectalis
CYDALIMA perspectalis (Walker, 1859)
Kind permission - © Tim Norriss
Life Cycle Guide - Adult Only
Description
Vernacular Name : Box Tree Moth
Wingspan: 38-42mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - includes (Germany,Switzerland,The Netherlands,France,Austria,Hungary,Roamania,Turkey, Croatia, Slovakia,Italy,Belgium and England) : eastern Asia - Japan,China,Taiwan,Korea,Russian far east,India
UK Distribution: By 2014 established in parts of London and surrounding counties
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Wherever host plant grown
Similar Species -
Pupa: The pupae are concealed in a cocoon of white webbing spun among leaves
Overwinters as: Early instar larva
Observations: The first introduction of this moth into Europe was in Reinen on the German Switzerland border by which time it had already been planted in Weil and Lörrach using infested imported plant material from China. From 2009 its spread along Lake Zurich still continues.
It has now found in 18 European countries including Germany,Switzerland,The Netherlands,France,Austria,Hungary,Roamania,Turkey, Croatia, Slovakia,Italy,Belgium and England, where it was first recorded in 2008 using light traps in East Sussex and Surrey.
In 2009 it was found in a commercial nursery in Surrey where the larvae caused severe damage. The same fate happened to a nursery in Hampshire in 2013.
The moth is still expending its range and as such this year the Royal Horticultural Society has nominated this moth as “top pest” for the first time above slugs and snails, which usually claim this spot and have asked any sighting be reported here.
Clearly with small infestations it is possible to remove the larvae otherwise the accepted commercial pesticides can be used although maybe rather than poison the soil perhaps Privet might be a better option, which would solve both problems.
Clearly the larvae of this moth are going to be a serious horticultural pests in the UK.
Wingspan: 38-42mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - includes (Germany,Switzerland,The Netherlands,France,Austria,Hungary,Roamania,Turkey, Croatia, Slovakia,Italy,Belgium and England) : eastern Asia - Japan,China,Taiwan,Korea,Russian far east,India
UK Distribution: By 2014 established in parts of London and surrounding counties
UK Conservation Status -
- Adventive
- Least Concern - expanding range
- Phakellura perspectalis (Walker, 1859)
- Margarodes conchylalis Guenée, 1854
- India - Bengale. Cote de malabar
Habitat: Wherever host plant grown
Similar Species -
- None
Pupa: The pupae are concealed in a cocoon of white webbing spun among leaves
Overwinters as: Early instar larva
Observations: The first introduction of this moth into Europe was in Reinen on the German Switzerland border by which time it had already been planted in Weil and Lörrach using infested imported plant material from China. From 2009 its spread along Lake Zurich still continues.
It has now found in 18 European countries including Germany,Switzerland,The Netherlands,France,Austria,Hungary,Roamania,Turkey, Croatia, Slovakia,Italy,Belgium and England, where it was first recorded in 2008 using light traps in East Sussex and Surrey.
In 2009 it was found in a commercial nursery in Surrey where the larvae caused severe damage. The same fate happened to a nursery in Hampshire in 2013.
The moth is still expending its range and as such this year the Royal Horticultural Society has nominated this moth as “top pest” for the first time above slugs and snails, which usually claim this spot and have asked any sighting be reported here.
Clearly with small infestations it is possible to remove the larvae otherwise the accepted commercial pesticides can be used although maybe rather than poison the soil perhaps Privet might be a better option, which would solve both problems.
Clearly the larvae of this moth are going to be a serious horticultural pests in the UK.
Photo Gallery
Larva
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Aquifoliaceae - Holly Family
- Ilex purpurea - No Common Name
- Buxaceae - Box Family
- Buxus sempervirens - Box
- Buxus microphylla - Littleleaf boxwood
- Buxus sinica - Chinese Box
- Buxus sempervirens - Box
- Celastraceae - Staff Vine : Bittersweet Family
- Euonymus alatus - Winged Spindle
- Euonymus japonicus - Japanese Spindle
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - CYDALIMA: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae CYDALIMA Lederer 1863 Cydalima perspectalis (Walker, 1859) - Margarodes conchylalis Guenée, 1854 - PHAKELLURA perspectalis (Walker, 1859) = Glyphodes perspectalis (Walker, 1859) - Histoire naturelle des insectes; spécies général des lépidoptères. Paris :Roret,1836-58 : Title Page : p.303 - n.317 - India - Bengale. Cote de malabar |