Loxostege Palealis

Loxostege Palealis

 

(in Russian, blednyi lugovoimotylek), a butterfly of the family Pyralididae. The wingspan measures 30–34 mm; the wings are white (the forewings have a silvery-green shading and a dark border vein). L. palealis lives in the central belt of the USSR and in the Caucasus. It is harmful to the seed-bearing plants of umbelliferous crops. The caterpillars winter in the soil and pupate in the spring. In the central belt of the USSR the butterflies appear in July, and the caterpillars appear at the end of July to the beginning of August. The caterpillars gnaw flower stalks and do harm to flower buds and immature seeds. Control measures include fall plowing and spraying the seed-bearing plants with a preparation of entobakterin-3 when the caterpillars appear.