Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFOecophoridae Members: Polix Members: 1 NC Records

Polix coloradella (Walsingham, 1888) - Skunk Moth

Polix coloradellaPolix coloradella
Taxonomy
Family:
Oecophoridae		Tribe:
Oecophorini		P3 Number:
59a0054		 MONA Number:
1058.00		 Other Common Name:
The Skunk
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Polix coloradella is a strikingly marked moth that has patterning that is reminiscent of that of a Striped Skunk. Most of the body is a rich dark-chocolate brown except for contrasting white lines and patches. The head is white above, while the thorax is dark brown centrally with a white line on each side. The forewing is also dark-brown except for a white streak that begins near the wing base on the inner margin. The white streak continues narrowly along the inner margin to near one-half the length of the wing, then angles inward and terminates before reaching the center of the wing. The line often expands to form a triangular spot at the point where it angles inward, and before narrowing towards the center of the wing. Specimens from the eastern US generally conform to this pattern, but those from western North America can deviate substantially.
Forewing Length: 5.5-9.5 mm (Hodges, 1974).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larva commonly feed within decaying wood and cankers that are caused by fungi on pines, Douglas fir, alders, hawthorns and apples (Hodges, 1974). They also feed within fungal bodies that are on dead wood, or immediately below tree bark where the fungal body is attached (Lawrence and Powell, 1969).

Yothers (1942) studies this species in Washington state where they commonly inhabit cancers on apple trees. The larvae in this region live within the cankers and spin webbing that entangles dead bodies, cast skins, and the frass of numerous insects that also inhabit the cankers. The larvae feed on the dead and decaying wood and bark, particularly on the old, aphid-killed and frost-killed callus tissue. These dead, friable tissues are often found riddled with burrows of the larvae. The larvae actively move throughout the callus outside of the burrows and often deposit their frass in their webbing. They are almost white when young, but darken with age to become brown or pink. After reaching 9-12 mm in length, they pupate within the callus. Pupae in this study were found between the middle of April and the end of June, with adults present from I May to 24 June.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Polix coloradella is broadly distributed across North America in cool, mesic, forested habitats. The northern part of the range includes Alaska and most of southern Canada from British Columbia eastward to New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. It extends southward from the Pacific Northwest to central California, and through the Rocky Mountain states to Colorado and northern New Mexico. In the eastern US the range extends from the Dakotas eastward through the Great Lakes region to the New England states, and southward through the Appalachian region to Pennsylvania, West Virginia and southeastern Kentucky. As of 2025, we have a single record from Madison County that is the southernmost record for the eastern US.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Polix coloradellaAlamance 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.
Flight Comments: The adults have been observed from April through August in different areas of the range, with a peak in June and July. As of 2025, our one record is from mid-June.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations are generally found in both deciduous and coniferous forests in cool climates. Our one record as of 2025 was from a mesic hardwood forest in the Blue Ridge.
Larval Host Plants: The larva commonly feed within decaying wood and cankers that are caused by fungi on pines, Douglas fir, alders, hawthorns and apples. They also feed within fungal bodies that are on dead wood, or immediately below tree bark where the fungal body is attached. (Yothers, 1942; Hodges, 1974; Lawrence and Powell, 1969; Powell and Opler, 2009). As of 2025, we do not have any host records for North Carolina. - View
Observation Methods: The larvae are attracted to lights and have been reared from fungal bodies and cankers that were maintained indoors.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S1S3]
State Protection:
Comments: As of 2025, we have a single record of this species from a rich hardwood slope in the Blue Ridge. This appears to be the southernmost record for this species in the eastern US.

 Photo Gallery for Polix coloradella - Skunk Moth

Photos: 2
Polix coloradella
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-06-14
Madison Co.
Comment: From 4.300' in a northern hardwood forest. 		Polix coloradella
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-06-14
Madison Co.
Comment: