Crambidae : Acentropinae
Water Veneer
ACENTRIA ephemerella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)
Water Veneer
ACENTRIA ephemerella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)
Kind permission - © Maurice Pugh
Life Cycle Guide
Description
The Wingspan: Male - 13-17mm Female has rudimentary wings although winged female form occurs
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - excluding (Azores,Balearic Is.,Canary Is.,Channel Is.,Corsica,Crete,Croatia,Cyprus,Greece,Madeira,Malta,
Sardinia,Sicily & Slovenia)
UK Distribution: Fairly common throughout Britain in suitable habitat : Scotland - more local
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Ponds : Slow moving Streams : Lakes : Marshes
Similar Species -
Pupa: Pupates in an underwater cocoon filled with air
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: The interest in this moth is possibly more in its life cycle than it appearance which is just light grey forewings and slightly darker venation.
The male is winged and two forms of female occur, mostly wingless, where the female lives on the top of the water or just below, and winged where the female flies as normal.
Mating takes place on the surface before the female dives to lay egg masses on aquatic plants such as those below.
As such an aquatic plant feeder the moth is used in biocontrol of Watermilfoil, an aquatic plant that causes infestations.
On certain nights males disperse, appearing at light in large numbers .
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - excluding (Azores,Balearic Is.,Canary Is.,Channel Is.,Corsica,Crete,Croatia,Cyprus,Greece,Madeira,Malta,
Sardinia,Sicily & Slovenia)
UK Distribution: Fairly common throughout Britain in suitable habitat : Scotland - more local
UK Conservation Status -
- Common = > 300 10km squares
- Least Concern
- Phalaena (Tinia) ephemerella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)
- Phryganea nivea Olivier, 1791
- Austria - near Vienna
Habitat: Ponds : Slow moving Streams : Lakes : Marshes
Similar Species -
- None
Pupa: Pupates in an underwater cocoon filled with air
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: The interest in this moth is possibly more in its life cycle than it appearance which is just light grey forewings and slightly darker venation.
The male is winged and two forms of female occur, mostly wingless, where the female lives on the top of the water or just below, and winged where the female flies as normal.
Mating takes place on the surface before the female dives to lay egg masses on aquatic plants such as those below.
As such an aquatic plant feeder the moth is used in biocontrol of Watermilfoil, an aquatic plant that causes infestations.
On certain nights males disperse, appearing at light in large numbers .
Photo Gallery
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.
- Haloragaceae - Watermilfoil Family
- Myriophyllum spicatum - Eurasian Watermilfoil
- Myriophyllum spicatum - Eurasian Watermilfoil
- Hydrocharitaceae - Frog's-bit Family
- Elodea canadensis - Canadian Pondweed, Canadian waterweed
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Potamogeton - Podweeds
- Ceratophyllum - Hornworts
- Charophyta - Freshwater Green Algae
- Chrysophyta - Golden Algae
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Elodea canadensis - Canadian Pondweed, Canadian waterweed
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - ACENTRIA: Original Species Name: Species Names: Genus Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Pyraloidea Crambidae Acentropinae ACENTRIA Stephens 1829 Acentria ephemerella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) - Phryganea nivea Olivier, 1791 - PHALAENA (Tinia) ephemerella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) = Acentria nivea (Olivier, 1791) = Acentria hansoni (Stephens, 1833) = Acentria garnonsii (Curtis, 1834) = Acentropus niveus (Oliver) - ACENTRIA Stephens 1829 = Acentropus Curtis 1834 - Ankündung eines systematischen Werkes von den Schmetterlingen der Wienergegend : Title Page : p.142 - n.9 - Austria - near Vienna |
