Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFDepressariidae Members: Pseuderotis Members: 6 NC Records

Pseuderotis obiterella (Busck, 1908) - No Common Name

Pseuderotis obiterellaPseuderotis obiterellaPseuderotis obiterellaPseuderotis obiterella
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Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Gelechioidea		 Family:
Depressariidae		Subfamily:
[Peleopodinae]		Tribe:
[Peleopodini]		P3 Number:
59a0222		 MONA Number:
1009.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Hodges (1974)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Pseuderotis obiterella has a flattened shape, and an overall pale straw to tan color that is often finely peppered with darker scales in fresh specimens. The head, thorax and the slender, smooth-scaled palps are all concolorous with the ground color of the forewings. The antenna is similar, but often with a bit of a golden suffusion. The primary marks include two black spots near the middle of the forewing at around two-fifth and three-fifth the wing length, and a more diffuse dark spot between these two that is displaced towards the inner margin. There are two rows of dark dots, with one along the outer margin, and a second that parallels the first at around three-fourths the wing length. When an individual is viewed from above while resting, the larger black spots produce a square-like pattern in the middle of the wings, particularly since the third spot is often hidden by the folded wings. The hindwings and fringe are uniformly pale straw to tan, except for a bit of dark dusting near the outer margin, and the legs are predominantly light to medium brown.

Pseuderotis obiterella can be confused with Inga cretacea, but the latter has blackish legs, a chalky-white ground color, and lacks the second row of dark dots at three-fourths that parallels the one along the outer margin.
Wingspan: 15.0-15.5 mm (Busck 1903).
Adult Structural Features: Hodges (1974) has descriptions and illustrations of the male and female genitalia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larval life history is poorly documented. Tracy Feldman reared an adult from a larva that was feeding beneath a silk shelter on a leaf of Loblolly Bay (Gordonia lasianthus). The larva fed by skeletonized the leaf along the midrib and had an amber-colored head and prothoracic shield, a light greenish abdomen with a series of irregular, fine, longitudinal lines, and a transverse row of white dots along each abdominal segment. A recent iNat record (2025; Ashley Bosarge) also shows a larva beneath a silt shelter that was feeding on a Nyssa sp.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Pseuderotis obiterella is largely restricted to the southeastern US, where the range extends from North Carolina southward and westward to South Carolina, Georgia, northern Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. As of 2035, our records are all from the Coastal Plain, including the Sandhills and Lower Coastal Plain.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Pseuderotis obiterellaAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Immature Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: immatures.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Recorded habitats in North Carolina include pocosins in the Outer Coastal Plain and streamhead pocosins in the Sandhills.
Larval Host Plants: The host plants are poorly documented, but Tracy Feldman reared a larva from Loblolly Bay (Gordonia lasianthus) in North Carolina (BugGuide, 2021), and there is a recent rearing record for a species of Nyssa (iNat; Ashley Bosarge). - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights. Much more information is needed on the host plants and larval life history of this species.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Coastal Plain Wet Acidic Shrublands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: [GNR] S2S3
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: Hodges (1974) described this species as rarely collected. It appears to be in decline, with only six iNat records recorded as of 2025.

 Photo Gallery for Pseuderotis obiterella - None

Photos: 5
Pseuderotis obiterella
Recorded by: Tracy Feldman on 2021-06-16
Tyrell Co.
Comment: A larva beneath a silt shelter on Gordonia lasianthus. 		Pseuderotis obiterella
Recorded by: Tracy Feldman on 2021-06-16
Tyrell Co.
Comment: Skeletonized leaf tissue on Gordonia lasianthus.
Pseuderotis obiterella
Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 1999-08-08
Carteret Co.
Comment: BOLD specimen; in USNM.		Pseuderotis obiterella
Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 1999-03-24
Craven Co.
Comment: BOLD specimen; in USNM.
Pseuderotis obiterella
Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 1999-03-24
Craven Co.
Comment: BOLD specimen; in USNM.