Species Details

ABH: 63.089

BF: 1305

Family: Crambidae

Subfamily: Crambinae

Taxon: Agriphila tristella

Authority: ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

Vernacular: Common Grass-moth

Account: Common in grassland and rough meadows throughout the British Isles. Quite variable in ground colour, but consistently marked, with the main confusion species being A. selasella, from which differs as follows: A. tristella has a distinct facial cone, besides having traces of a subterminal line and yellow or creamy, never white, median longitudinal streak; termen more rounded, less square than in A. selasella; the forewing of A. selasella has a distinctly smoother texture than that of A. tristella [Goater]. Larva feeds within lower stems of various grasses, living within a silken gallery at the base of the plant.

Accounts provided by and used with the kind permission of Mike Wall, Hampshire County Moth Recorder. These will in due course be gradually replaced with species accounts with a Surrey context.

Wingspan: 25 — 30 mm

Surrey Flight Period: 2 Jul (1996) — 22 Sep (2024)

The flight period of overwintering adults are not given. See the flight chart below the distribution map.

Foodplant: Deschampsia cespitosa (Tufted Hair-grass), Gramineae., Poa sp.

Foodplant accounts are from the HOSTS database — Natural History Museum, London, UK. (CC0).

Status: Common

UK BAP:

WCA:

Click here to view the full geology map of Surrey.

Verification Grade: 1 — Relatively easily identified 👌

Further Information: https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/agriphila-tristella/

Statistics

* Based on adult records only.

Records: 591

Individuals: 143

Earliest Year: 1986

Latest Year: 2025

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