Agriphila straminella?, Heesch, Netherlands

I have several shots and angles on this one, which I intend to share later as I first like to discuss an issue I have regarding identification. I've paged through pretty much all grass moths and similar small moths known to occur in the Netherlands and came across Agriphila straminella, which was also suggested as main candidate in a FB group.

The part I don't understand is the short "snout", or lack of a snout, compared to pretty much all reference photos I'm finding online. Everything else about it matches. I wonder if that means I'm wrong. Could it be sex-related? Life stage related? The pattern match on the wings is so strong and explicit, that I'm trying to answer that last question.

Any takers?

comments (6)

Christine Young

Lion

Weird. I've never seen a grass-veneer without a long snout. These two pages have shots of this species without long palps: https://www.norfolkmoths.co.uk/micros.php?bf=13040
http://gdoremi.altervista.org/crambidae/Agriphila_straminella_en.html Posted 7 years ago
1. Christine Young
  
  Lion
  
  Not sure what the reason would be. I looked through a bunch of images of males and females, and both genders had long palps. Posted 7 years ago
2. 1. Ferdy Christant
    
    Lion
    
    Thanks so much, you came further than me, as I could not find images without the palp. The only theory I have left is that perhaps they can bend it and it's simply obfuscated lol.
    
    Either way, I'm confident enough to positively ID it now, so many thanks! Posted 7 years ago
  2. 1. Christine Young
      
      Lion
      
      "obfuscated" ...fancy word ;)
      
      Happy to help! Posted 7 years ago
    2. 1. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        I'm trying to look smarter than I really am, Christine, don't ruin it. Posted 7 years ago
      2. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Hehe, sorry to have outed you ;P Posted 7 years ago

The Straw Grass-veneer

"Agriphila straminella" is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It is found in Europe. The wingspan is 16–20 mm. The moth flies from June to September depending on the location. The larvae feed on various grasses, such as sheep's fescue, smooth meadowgrass, and wheat.

Info 7 0

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies

Species identified by Ferdy Christant