Nov 28, 2017
Elegant Grass-Veneer (Microcrambus elegans), Newark DE. August 2017.
One of the “microleps”, or small moths that rarely receive attention due to their size, the elegant grass-veneer is fairly common in the Mid-Atlantic. As caterpillars, they are seldom seen, hiding in litter at the base of grasses (crowns) and emerging at night to feed on the blades. The adults, in comparison, are easier to find since they actively come to lights. Although they do feed on turf grasses, they do not seem to be a pest in the eastern US. At least one generation in the eastern US; multiple generations occur if during warm or prolonged summers.
