Photoperiod-adaptation
Guides
Crambus tutillus
sod webworm
Crambus tutillus is a sod webworm moth in the family Crambidae, described by McDunnough in 1921. It is univoltine with a life cycle tightly regulated by photoperiod and temperature. Larvae develop through nine instars, overwintering as diapausing eighth instars, with adults emerging in mid-May and reproducing through June and July. The species exhibits an unusual adaptive response where early instar growth rates increase as daylength decreases, synchronizing development with seasonal food availability.