Lepidoptera The Bullrush Moth – Nonagria Arundinis
Our last example of this family is the Bullrush, a moth that is common in all parts where its food plant abounds.
It is much larger than the two preceding species. The fore wings are yellowish brown, with three parallel transverse lines of black spots. The hind wings are whitish, tinged with brown near the hind margin.
The caterpillar is of a dull pinkish colour, with a shining brownish plate on the second segment. The spiracles are black. It feeds inside the stems of the reed-mace (Typha latifolia), and changes to a chrysalis within the gallery it has excavated, after making a hole through which it can escape when it attains the perfect form.
The caterpillar may be found in May and June, the chrysalis in August, and the moth in September.