Moths of North Carolina
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Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Family (Alpha):
ACROLEPIIDAE-
ADELIDAE-Fairy moths
AMPHISBATIDAE-
AUTOSTICHIDAE-
BATRACHEDRIDAE-Batrachedrid Moths
BEDELLIIDAE-Bedelliid Moths
BLASTOBASIDAE-
BOMBYCIDAE-
BUCCULATRICIDAE-
CARPOSINIDAE-
CHOREUTIDAE-Metalmark Moths
COLEOPHORIDAE-Casebearer Moths and Relatives
COSMOPTERIGIDAE-Cosmopterigid Moths
COSSIDAE-Carpenter Moths, Goat Moths
CRAMBIDAE-Grass Moths, Snout Moths
DEPRESSARIIDAE-
DREPANIDAE-Hook-tips and Thyatirid Moths
ELACHISTIDAE-Grassminer Moths and Relatives
EPERMENIIDAE-
EPIPYROPIDAE-
EREBIDAE-Erebid Moths
ERIOCRANIIDAE-
EUTELIIDAE-
GALACTICIDAE-
GELECHIIDAE-Gelechiid Moths; Twirler Moths
GEOMETRIDAE-Geometer Moths, Loopers
GLYPHIDOCERIDAE-
GLYPHIPTERIGIDAE-Sedge Moths
GRACILLARIIDAE-Leafblotch miner moths
HELIOZELIDAE-Shield bearer moths
HEPIALIDAE-Ghost or Swift Moths
HYBLAEIDAE-
INCURVARIIDAE-
LASIOCAMPIDAE-Tent Caterpillar Moths, Lappet Moths
LECITHOCERIDAE-Long-horned Moths
LIMACODIDAE-Slug Caterpillar Moths
LYONETIIDAE-Lyonetiid Moths
MEGALOPYGIDAE-Flannel Moths
MICROPTERIGIDAE-Mandibulate Moths
MIMALLONIDAE-
MOMPHIDAE-Mompha Moths
NEPTICULIDAE-Minute leaf miners
NOCTUIDAE-Owlet Moths
NOLIDAE-
NOTODONTIDAE-Prominents
OECOPHORIDAE-Oecophorid Moths
OPOSTEGIDAE-
PELEOPODIDAE-
PLUTELLIDAE-Diamondback Moths
PRODOXIDAE-Yucca Moths
PSYCHIDAE-Bagworm Moths
PTEROPHORIDAE-Plume Moths
PYRALIDAE-Pyralid Moths, Snout Moths
SATURNIIDAE-Giant Silkworm Moths
SCHRECKENSTEINIIDAE-Schreckensteiniid Moths
SESIIDAE-Clearwing Moths
SPHINGIDAE-Sphinx Moths
THYATIRIDAE-
THYRIDIDAE-Window-winged Moths
TINEIDAE-Clothes moths
TISCHERIIDAE-Tischerid Moths
TORTRICIDAE-Leafroller Moths
URANIIDAE-
URODIDAE-Urodid Moths
XYLORYCTIDAE-
YPONOMEUTIDAE-Ermine Moths
YPSOLOPHIDAE-Ypsolophid Moths
ZYGAENIDAE-
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Elachistidae Members:
Blastodacna unidentified species
Elachista cucullata
Elachista illectella
Elachista leucofrons
Elachista madarella
Elachista subalbidella
Elachista unidentified species
Stephensia major
Elachista
Members:
Elachista cucullata
Elachista illectella
Elachista leucofrons
Elachista madarella
Elachista subalbidella
Elachista unidentified species
50 NC Records
Elachista illectella
(Clemens, 1860) - No Common Name
view caption
Males like this one have a lighter and more grainy texture to the wing relative to the females, which are more distinctly black-and-white.
view caption
Females have a more distinct black-and-white pattern to the wing relative to the males, which are lighter and more grainy textured.
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Gelechioidea
Family:
Elachistidae
Subfamily:
Elachistinae
Tribe:
Elachistini
P3 Number:
59a1467
MONA Number:
1129.00
Comments:
Elachista
is a large genus of small moths that occur worldwide. Around 135 Nearctic species are currently recognized. They specialize on monocots and most feed on either grasses (Poaceae) and sedges (Cyperaceae).
Species Status:
This species was treated as
Cosmiotes illectella
by Braun (1948) and moved to
Elachista
by Kaila (1999).
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions:
Covell (1984; as
Cosmiotes illectella
)
Online Resources:
MPG
,
BugGuide
,
iNaturalist
,
Google
,
BAMONA
,
GBIF
,
BOLD
Technical Description, Adults:
Braun (1948, p. 91, as Cosmiotes illectella)
Technical Description, Immature Stages:
Braun (1948)
Adult Markings:
This is a minute fuscous to black-and-white moth, with the females darker and more boldly marked than the males. A narrow white band is located at the middle of the wing and a broken white band also occurs in the subterminal area (Braun, 1948). Both sexes have a whitish spot at the apex that helps to distinguish them from similar species, and the males have long yellowish white hairs on the last abdominal segments. The following detailed description is based on Braun (1948). The adults are sexually dimorphic, with the females noticeably darker than the males. In both sexes, the head is fuscous and speckled with dark gray, while the face is sometimes paler and more or less silvery. The labial palps are fuscous, but paler and sometimes whitish above, with a black spot at the base of the third segment. The antenna is dark fuscous with narrow paler annulations. The forewing of the male is fuscous overall. The bases of the scales are grayish white and the tips darker, which creates an overall grainy appearance to the wing. Just before the middle there is a slightly oblique, irregular, narrow fascia that is sometimes much reduced and indicated only by a broken line. At two-thirds the wing length, there is a white costal and an opposite dorsal spot that are occasionally obsolete. A few black scales usually separate their apices. The cilia are fuscous and whitish around the apex, while the marginal scales projecting into them are conspicuously black-tipped. The forewing of the female is darker than that of the male and more evenly dark brown or black. When irrorated, it tends to be paler before the fascia, especially in the late fall and early spring generations. The fascia is broad and silvery white, while the dorsal and costal spots are silvery white and never reduced in size. In general, the female has whiter and more boldly contrasting marks than the male. The cilia is fuscous, with white around the apex. The black-tipped marginal scales are white at the base around the apex, and form a more or less conspicuous white transverse mark in the cilia. The hindwing and cilia are fuscous and darker in the female. The legs are gray, and the hind tibia has a white band before the middle and at the apex. The abdomen is fuscous.
Elachista irrorata
and
E. illectella
are easily confused. Both males and females of
E. irrorata
are distinctly black-and white and lack an apical white spot on the forewing. Female
E. illectella
closely resemble the males and females of
E. irrorata
, but can be distinguished by the whitish spot at the apex (absent in
E. irrorata
).
Wingspan:
6-7.5, rarely 8 mm (Braun, 1948)
Adult Structural Features:
Male and female reproductive structures are distinctive and are described and illustrated by Braun (1948).
Adult ID Requirements:
Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development:
The larvae mine the leaves of a variety of grasses (Braun, 1948). The mine starts as a fine line before gradually increasing in breadth. On hosts with narrow leaves it typically occupies the entire width of the blade. The larva usually consumes the entire parenchyma to produce a full-depth mine. As a result, the mine appears whitish and is about equally visible from either leaf surface. Braun (1948) noted that mining larvae may be found throughout most of the year (even in the winter), and produce adults within a few weeks after being collected. The larvae vary in color depending on the host, but are usually greenish yellow with a brownish transverse bar on the posterior of the prothoracic shield, and lighter horizontal lines located on either side of the midline (Braun, 1948). Pupation takes place beneath a dense, irregular meshwork of white silk (Eiseman, 2019).
Larvae ID Requirements:
Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
Elachista illectella
is found in eastern North America, with at least one record from Alberta. The range in the East includes southern Canada (Ontario; Quebec; Newfoundland) and the New England states, to as far west as Illinois and Oklahoma, and as far south as Mississippi, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Populations appear to be absent from much of the southeastern Coastal Plain. As of 2020, our records are from the Piedmont, and both lower and higher elevations in the mountains.
County Map:
Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
Piedmont (Pd)
Coastal Plain (CP)
Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments:
Local populations appear to have two or more generations per year, with most adult records occurring from March through October in different areas of the range. As of 2020, our records extend from March through November, with most from March through June.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
The adults can be found in a variety of habitats that range from fields, meadows, and roadsides to forested sites with woodland grasses.
Larval Host Plants:
The larvae are polyphagous and feed on several genera of grasses (Braun, 1948). The known hosts include Kentucky Blue Grass (
Poa pratensis
) and other
Poa
species, Common Timothy (
Phleum pratense
), Sweet Vernal Grass (
Anthoxanthum odoratum
), and species of
Agrostis
,
Elymus
,
Festuca
, and
Bromus
(Eiseman, 2022). In North Carolina, mines have been recorded on Sweet Vernal Grass, Lesser Quaking Grass (
Briza minor
), Sweet Woodreed (
Cinna arundinacea
), Eastern Bottlebrush-grass (
Elymus hystrix
), Virginia Wild-rye (
Elymus virginicus
), Nodding Fescue (
Festuca subverticillata
), and Common Velvet Grass (
Holcus lanatus
). -
View
Observation Methods:
The adults are attracted to lights and the leaf mines can be found by searching grass leaves throughout the year.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks:
GNR [SU]
State Protection:
Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:
We currently do not have enough information on the distribution, host plants, or habitat associations of this species to draw any conclusions about its conservation status.
Photo Gallery for
Elachista illectella
- No common name
60 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-11-12
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-10-31
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-10-21
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-10-06
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-09-13
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-09-11
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-24
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-05-20
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2024-04-29
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-04-16
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-04-02
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-04-02
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-04-01
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-04-01
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, David George on 2024-03-31
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Becky Watkins on 2024-03-14
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-10-10
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-10-10
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-10-10
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: John Petranka and Jim Petranka on 2023-05-19
Moore Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-05-12
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George on 2023-05-09
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-04-19
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George on 2023-04-13
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-04-06
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-03-24
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-02-23
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2022-05-23
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-05-20
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-05-20
Madison Co.
Comment: