University of Alberta Museums Search

A medium sized Crambus (21-29 mm wingspan). Forewing yellowish-brown, discal silvery stripe broad, somewhat scimitar shaped, not crossed by dark brown lines and lacking a tooth of the underside of the stripe; lacking a sinuous white submedial line; also lacking a white patch beyond the stripe; wing base with costal brown area reduced to a single line. Hindwings grayish, fringe dirty white. The gnathos (uncus) of the male genitalia is narrow at base, broadening dorsally and appearing spoon shaped (Klots 1942). Close to Crambus leachellus which has the gnathos (uncus) of the male genitalia narrow throughout, the hindwings white; and the forewings with the subterminal area paler than the median area while the terminal line has five black dashes.

Unknown. McDaniel et al (1984) state that Klots (pers. comm.) considered C. ainslieellus, like C. leachellus, to be almost continent-wide in distribution with ainslieellus being rare or uncommon; however, they found ainsliellus to be the commoner of the two in western South Dakota.

A North American species. Klots (1942) in describing the species, has it from British Columbia, Manitoba, Washington, Montana, South Dakota, Iowa and Maine. Reported for Alberta from the Lethbridge area by Bowman (1951) and collected in Edmonton by F. Sperling.