Chilo phragmitella

The species was, as Tinea phragmitella,[4] first described by Jacob Hübner in his work Sammlung europäischer Schmetterlinge,[3] a multi-volume work with publication dates from 1793 to 1841.[5] Francis Hemming, in his 1937 systematic treatment[lower-alpha 1] of the entomological works of Jacob Hübner, narrowed the range of years in which the description of Tinea phragmitella may have been published to 1805–1810.[5]

The specific name phragmitella refers to the species' larval food source.[6]

Larvae are whitish and feed internally from stem and rootstock of common reed (Phragmites australis) and reed sweet-grass (Glyceria maxima).[7][11] Larvae take two years to mature.[12][13] Prior to pupation, the larva creates a hole in the stem to exit from as moth. Pupation occurs within the stem beneath the exit created by the larva.[7][14]

Adults are sexually dimorphic, with smaller, darker males. Wingspan is respectively 24–32 mm for males and 30–40 mm for females.[7] Both sexes have long labial palpi.[11] Female specimens of Chilo phragmitella may resemble those of Donacaula forficella.[6]

Depending on location, adults may be on wing from May to September. In Great-Britain, adults are on wing from June to July in a single generation.[7]

The following description of Chilo phragmitella was published in Edward Meyrick's 1895 A Handbook of British Lepidoptera:[15]

The face with a conical horny projection. The labial palpi longer than head and thorax. Forewings in female much narrower and more acute than in male ; pale ochreous, more or less suffused with brown, especially in male, tending to form dark streaks on and between veins ; a dark fuscous discal dot ; termen sinuate. Hindwings are pale whitish-ochreous or whitish, The larva is ochreous -whitish ; dorsal, subdorsal, and lateral lines reddish -brown ; head and plate of 2 yellowish -brown.

— Edward Meyrick