Rush-feeder
Guides
Bactra furfurana
mottled marble
Bactra furfurana is a small tortricid moth with a wingspan of 13–19 mm, found across the Nearctic and Palearctic realms. Adults fly in June and July in damp marshy habitats. The larvae are stem-borers in rushes, feeding internally on Schoenoplectus lacustris and Juncus conglomeratus. The species closely resembles Bactra lancealana but can be distinguished by subtle wing shape and pattern differences.
Bactra lancealana
Black-blotched Bactra Moth
Bactra lancealana is a small tortricid moth with a wingspan of 11–20 mm, distributed across Europe. Adults are active from May to October. Larvae feed primarily on rushes in the genera Juncus and Scirpus. The species is morphologically similar to Bactra furfurana, requiring careful examination for identification.
Eutomostethus luteiventris
Yellow-bellied Rush-cutter
A small sawfly measuring 5–7 mm, characterized by a black head and thorax contrasting with an orange-yellow abdomen marked with black dorsal patterns. The species is notable for its parthenogenetic reproduction in Britain and Ireland, where only females have been recorded. It completes a single generation per year in the UK, with adult activity restricted to spring. The genome has been sequenced as part of the Darwin Tree of Life project, revealing a haploid assembly of 272.06 Mb.