---
title: "Waterlily Leafcutter Moth"
description: "Elophila obliteralis — Insectes et araignées. Elophila obliteralis, the waterlily leafcutter moth, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/fr/animal/waterlily-leafcutter-moth
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Waterlily Leafcutter Moth

> Elophila obliteralis — Insectes et araignées. Elophila obliteralis, the waterlily leafcutter moth, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae.

- Scientific name: *Elophila obliteralis*
- Category: `insects` (Insectes et araignées)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lacs et rivières)
- iNaturalist observations: 22887
- Wikidata: [Q5367185](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5367185)
- iNaturalist taxon: [335071](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/335071)

## Names

- en: Waterlily Leafcutter Moth

## Countries with the most observations

US (14837), CA (3103), ZA (7), BW (6), MX (4), BZ (3)

## Summary

Elophila obliteralis, the waterlily leafcutter moth, is a species of moth of the family Crambidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1859. It is native to eastern North America. It is an introduced species in Hawaii and South Africa.
The wingspan is 10–22 mm with the male being smaller than the female. Adults are on wing from May to August in North America.
The larvae feed on a wide range of aquatic plants, including Hydrilla verticillata, Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes, Nymphaea and Potamogeton species.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elophila_obliteralis

## Photo

![Waterlily Leafcutter Moth](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/waterlily-leafcutter-moth/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jade Fortnash · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/67969403

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/waterlily-leafcutter-moth?lang=fr` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).