About Herpetogramma licarsisalis (Walker, 1859)
Herpetogramma licarsisalis, commonly called the grass webworm or pale sod-webworm, is a species of moth belonging to the family Crambidae. This species is native to most of the Old World tropics, with recorded occurrences in South Africa, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Togo, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt, Réunion, Madagascar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Borneo, the Philippines, New Caledonia, Australia, and New Zealand. It has been introduced to many other regions across the world, including Hawaii, continental Spain, the Canary Islands, Portugal, Great Britain, Turkey, Cyprus, India, and Sri Lanka. In parts of its range, Herpetogramma licarsisalis acts as a pest of turf and pastures. Its larvae feed on a wide variety of host plants, including numerous grasses in the family Poaceae: Cenchrus clandestinus, Cynodon dactylon, Echinochloa crus-galli, species of Ischaemum, Lolium perenne, Oryza sativa, species of Panicum, Paspalum dilatatum, species of Pennisetum, Sorghum, and Zea mays. Larval host plants also include Acanthus ebracteatus in Acanthaceae, Gomphrena globosa in Amaranthaceae, Nephelium lappaceum in Sapindaceae, Senna siamea in Fabaceae, and the king fern Angiopteris evecta in Marattiaceae. The larvae develop inside silk-lined tubes constructed from the leaves of their host food plant.
