Mung Moth Maruca vitrata
Mung Moth Maruca vitrata
Adult • Hull, East Yorkshire • © Nikki Abramson

63.045 BF1401

Mung Moth Maruca vitrata

(Fabricius, 1787)

[Synonyms: testulalis]
Wingspan 28-34 mm.

A very rare vagrant or adventive species, possibly imported from the Tropics in leguminous vegetables. Abroad, it is a pest of these types of plant, where the larvae bore into the pods.

There have only been a handful of records in Britain, mainly in southern England, but the example shown was found in Congleton, Cheshire in September 2000, where it constituted the first county record.