Crambidae

63.121 Pale Water-veneer Donacaula forficella (Thunberg, 1794)

Local

Similar species:

Forewing: 12 to 18mm. The females are on average larger.

Habitats: Marshes, fens, bogs, coastal reed-beds, broads, flooded gravel pits, reed choked drainage ditches.

Habits: The moth is easily disturbed from dense vegetation during the day. It flies from dusk and later comes to light.

Foodplant: The larva feeds in the rolled shoots of Common Reed, Reed Sweet-grass, bur-reeds or sedges. The larva uses a raft made from a piece of stem or leaf to float to other foodplants. It pupates in a tough cocoon in the larval feeding place.