''Scirpophaga percna'' is a
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...
in the family
Crambidae
The Crambidae are the grass moth family of lepidopterans. They are variable in appearance, the nominal subfamily Crambinae (grass moths) taking up closely folded postures on grass stems where they are inconspicuous, while other subfamilies includ ...
. It was described by Ian Francis Bell Common in 1960. It is found on
Sulawesi, on
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...
and northern
Australia, where it has been recorded from the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...
and
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
.
The
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...
is 22–25 mm for males and 24–37 mm for females.
The larvae feed on ''
Saccharum
''Saccharum'' is a genus of tall perennial plants of the broomsedge tribe within the grass family.
The genus is widespread across tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions in Africa, Eurasia, Australia, the Americas, and assorted ocea ...
'' species and possibly ''
Eleocharis dulcis
''Eleocharis dulcis'', the Chinese water chestnut or water chestnut, is a grass-like sedge native to Asia, tropical Africa, and Oceania. It is grown in many countries for its edible corms.
The water chestnut is not a nut, but an aquatic ve ...
''. They bore into the stems of their host plant.
References
Moths described in 1960
Schoenobiinae
Moths of Indonesia
Moths of Australia
Moths of New Guinea
{{Schoenobiinae-stub