| Abstract: | Summary Observations on the biology ofLimnaecia phragmitella
Stt. (fam. Momphidae, Lepid.) — made in the Netherlands — are mentioned.The species was previously considered as being rare but now is known to be numerous in a few areas. The caterpillars live in the heads of Typha where they feed on the seeds and later on the core. They hibernate when halfgrown, develop further in the spring and early summer and pupate in June; the moths appear during July.The species has a worldwide distribution: England, Central and Southern Europe, Northern Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America. In the latter country it was studied byP. W. Claassen together with a number of other Typha-insects occurring in the U.S.A. (Cornell Un. Memoir 47, Oct. 1921).The present author has found an hemipteron,Chilacis typhae
Perris (Lygaeidae), in Typha heads occurring together with the caterpillars ofLimnaecia. This insect has also been reported in the literature as being rare in the Netherlands. It is suspected of living on the caterpillars but this has not been shown. |
