100 More Species #32: Tubeworm moth

[urbpan]

Tubeworm moth Acrolophus sp.

In honor of Moth Week I'll be featuring some of the moths we identified during the recent BioBlitz! Thanks to Jenn Forman Orth and Sam Jaffe who performed most of these identifications.

Tubeworm moths are named for their larvae, colorless caterpillars that take refuge in silken vertical tubes in the soil. From there they can reach their food, mostly the roots of grasses and other plants, but some species feed on soil detritus. Many of the sources I've consulted say that this is primarily a tropical group, with only a few species making it as far north as Maryland or New Jersey. I suspect that the vast suburban grasslands have expanded the range of tubeworm moths.
The scientific name Acrolophus (pronounced with an emphasis on the CRO) refers to the fuzzy hump that characterizes many members of the Genus.

If you are interested in moths and can travel to the Boston area you should attend Moth Night at Garden in the Woods, this coming Thursday.