Fun Crambid Snout Moth Facts For Kids

The family Crambidae (crambid snout moths) belongs to the kingdom Animalia, order Lepidoptera, phylum Arthropoda, and the class Insecta. It's a grass moth family whose members differ in appearance. There are more than 1,000 genera, 10,347 species, and 15 subfamilies including the subfamily Erupinae, subfamily Crambinae, subfamily Acentropinae, subfamily Midilinae, and subfamily Glaphyriinae (Forbes). Many subfamilies comprise members that are brightly colored and patterned while some have members that can camouflage excellently. The Desmia Grape Leaffolder, Raspberry Pyrausta, and the Orange Mint moths are crambids that possess bright coloration and can be seen commonly near flowers. The adult crambids have been spotted nearby their eggs and caterpillars. They are collectively called crambid snout moths due to their mouthparts. They are quite commonly spotted in human settlement areas. These moths are known to affect crops as well as gardens harmlessly and beneficially. The mint moth (Pyrausta aurata) is a crambid species that causes no harm. Caterpillars of the species bamboo borer (Omphisa fuscidentalis) are even consumed by humans! Keep reading to get to know more information about these fascinating moths!

If you enjoy reading our crambid snout moth fun facts, you must check out our Rosy maple moth and luna moth articles!

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What type of animal is a crambid snout moth?

The family Crambidae (crambid snout moths) comprises members that are moths.

What class of animal does a crambid snout moth belong to?

The family Crambidae (crambid snout moths) belongs to the kingdom Animalia, order Lepidoptera (of butterflies and moths), phylum Arthropoda, and the class Insecta. The Crambidae family has been treated as a Pyralidae subfamily in many classifications. However, the characteristic difference between the two is the presence of the praecinctorium in the tympanal organs of the Crambidae members, which is absent in the Pyralidae members.

How many crambid snout moths are there in the world?

Crambidae is a large family that is globally widespread. It has an abundant population. However, the population number has not been evaluated yet.

Where does a crambid snout moth live?

Crambidae is a globally widespread family that is quite common in human settlements. The members of this family can be spotted on every continent except Antarctica.

What is a crambid snout moth's habitat?

Crambids are quite common in human settlement areas. They affect gardens and crops beneficially as well as harmlessly. The adult crambids can often be found near the locations where their eggs are and where the caterpillars are developing. Species like the Raspberry Pyrausta, Orange Mint moths, and the Desmia Grape Leaffolder are colorful crambids that are seen near flowers.

Crambidae caterpillars feed upon nonwoody plants, leaves, and grasses. Some of them even produce silk tubes for taking shelter. They use silk webs that hold them while they consume algae in high current water. In low current water, some species build silk and leaf tubes to feed on plants like duckweed.

Who do crambid snout moths live with?

These moths are often found living together in groups comprising individuals of the same species.

How long does a crambid snout moth live?

The lifespan of these moth species is currently not known. However, the average lifespan of moths is between 65-90 days.

How do they reproduce?

Female crambids lay 60 eggs per day for two weeks on average. However, the brood may vary from species to species. These eggs hatch and go through caterpillar phases after which they pupate and emerge as a sexually mature, winged adult. The nests of these moths also vary with the larvae of one group being found in the nests of arboreal ants!

What is their conservation status?

The extinction status of the Crambidae family is Not Extinct. 

What do crambid snout moths look like?

These moths of the family Crambidae and the order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) are named after their mouthparts which are known as palpi. The crambid's overall shape varies from thin to long and appears to be triangular. A few species curve their abdomen towards the head as a characteristic posture whereas some extend the tip of their abdomen past the hindwing's margin. They come in shades of tan, gray, beige, white, dark brown, pink, orange, and yellow. They have mottled markings, spots, lines, or blotches on them. The caterpillars are quite small and come in shades of brown, tan, or green. They also possess bands, series, or camouflage marking. They may also have sparse short hair. Species of these moths are similar looking to the pyralid family. Both the families possess scales on the probosci's base. However, they can be differentiated by wing patterns. Species like the Raspberry Pyrausta, Orange Mint moths, and the Desmia Grape Leaffolder are colorful crambids that are seen near flowers.

How cute are they?

These grass moths have striking patterns of their tiny wings which can be appealing to some. They also come in diverse shades of tan, gray, beige, white, dark brown, pink, orange, and yellow.

How do they communicate?

Moths have been observed communicating through chemicals. The adults have earlike tympanal organs that aid them in the detection of predators.

How big is a crambid snout moth?

They are quite small moths. They range between 1.2-1.4 in (31-37 mm) in length and range between 0.5-1.5 in (1.2-3.8 cm) in wingspan. They can reach the size of the gypsy moth.

How fast can a crambid snout moth fly?

The speed of these species of moths has not been evaluated yet. However, we do know that some moth species can fly up to 19-55 mph (30.5-88.5 kph)!

How much does a crambid snout moth weigh?

The weight of the crambid snout moth has not been evaluated yet. However, given their small size, they surely are lightweight.

What are the male and female names of the species?

The males and females do not possess any particular names based on their gender.

What would you call a baby crambid snout moth?

The babies of a crambid snout moth are referred to as larvae.

What do they eat?

The food preference of crambid snout moths varies from species to species. Some species of this grass moth family, like the aquatic caterpillars, consume duckweeds, water lilies, or pondweed leaves. Caterpillars of various species, such as the European corn borer and Grape Leaffolder, cause problems to grass crops like grapes, oats, sugarcane, corn, and rice as they feed upon the stems of grass plants. A few caterpillars are leaf miners or stem borers.  Some species have also been observed to consume plant roots that are underground. A species commonly known as the bamboo borer is consumed in Laos, Thailand, China, and Myanmar as a high-protein delicacy. The bamboo borer, also known as a bamboo worm, is flavored with sauces, herbs, and spices in these countries.

Animals like spiders, insects, birds. reptiles, mammals, fish, insects, and crayfish hunt these moths. Crafting silken shelters as well as boring in stems helps the grass moth species to escape predators. The members of the subfamily Crambinae form folded postures on grass stems to hide.

Are they poisonous?

These moths aren't poisonous and pose no threat to humans. Species of these grass moths help humans as they serve as biological control agents of invasive plants. Indigenous to the Amazon basin, the water hyacinth moth was imported to North America as it helps in controlling the water hyacinth's overgrowth. Water veneer, another example of crambid snout moths, aids in controlling the Eurasian watermilfoil. The mint moth is a harmless species of the Crambidae family.

Would they make a good pet?

There are currently no known instances of people keeping crambid snout moths as pets. Usually considered pests, they do possess striking patterns on their wings that can attract insect lovers. They can be quite challenging pets.

Did you know...

There are more than 860 species of crambid snout moths in North America, north of Mexico.

Two common leaf folder species are the grape leafroller (D. maculalis) and the grape leaffolder (Desmia funeralis). They are considered pests of vineyards that cause damage to the grape crops.

Raspberry Pyrausta (Pyrausta signatalis) is named so due to its color and not its diet.

Orange Mint Moth (Pyrausta orphisalis) is known to increases the oil content in the mint crop.

How many families of moths are there?

There are approximately 52,000 species of moths distributed across eight families!

What moths live the longest?

The species of moth that lives the longest is Gynaephora groenlandica which can be found in the Canadian Arctic on Ellesmere Island. It belongs to the order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths), Superfamily Noctuoidea, and the family Erebidae. It has a lifespan of seven years and is the oldest moth ever discovered!

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other arthropods from our brown mantidfly interesting facts and brown-hooded cockroach fun facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable crambid snout moth coloring pages.