Moths of North Carolina
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12 NC Records

Mompha stellella Busck, 1906 - No Common Name


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Gelechioidea Family: MomphidaeSubfamily: MomphinaeP3 Number: 421852.00 MONA Number: 1455.00
Comments: The genus Mompha consists of around 46 described species in North America. In addition, numerous species remain to be described that are centered in the southwestern US (Bruzzese et al., 2019). The adults are small moths that have two or more tufts of raised scales on each forewing. The larvae either mine leaves, or bore into the stems, flower buds, flowers, or fruits of their hosts. The majority of species feed on members of the Onagraceae, but others feed on species in the Cistaceae, Lythraceae, Melastomataceae, and Rubiaceae.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: (Busck, 1906)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Microleps.org                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is based primarily on the original description by Busck (1906). The antenna is uniformly dark brown. The labial palp is whitish ocherous with scattered black scales, and have a black annulation just before the tip of the terminal joint. The face is silvery white, and the head and thorax are light ocherous. The forewing is light ocherous and mottled with brown and black scales. The costal edge is mottled with black, and the entire apical part of the wing is sprinkled with sparse black scales. There are two oblique, ill-defined and indistinct shades of light brown stretching across the wing, one from near the base, and the other from the middle of the costa. There are six tufts of raised ocherous scales in two longitudinal rows, one through the middle of the wing, and the other below the fold. The central tuft is the largest of them. A conspicuous elongated patch of black scales is present on the inner margin that begins just beyond the middle tuft of raised scales. The abdomen is ocherous, and the legs are ocherous with black mottling.

This and other Mompha species can be difficult to identify since there are numerous undescribed species. Rearing of adults from the distorted flower buds on Common Evening-primrose is the best way to confidently identify specimens of M. stellella. Some of the key features of this species based of reared adults are a relatively uniformly colored antenna, a broad light zone on the basal fifth of the wing, a blackish and often somewhat rectangular patch along the dorsal margin just beyond one-half (between the second and third patch of raised scales), and the third segment of the palp that has a conspicuous subterminal black annulus (often with one or more additional bands proximally). More rearing records are needed to better document phenotypic and geographic variation that occurs across the range of this species, and particularly in North Carolina.
Wingspan: 11-12 mm (Busck, 1906).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae are specialized borers in the flowers of Common Evening-primrose (Oenothera biennis). Females lay eggs on the developing flower buds or surrounding leaves. The hatchlings initially feed on the outside tissue, then bore inward and consume the style, stigma, stamens and the inner folded parts of the petals (Dickerson and Weiss, 1920). This causes the flower to become distorted, and to have an exceptionally short and wide pedicel and ovary base. The petals often do not develop fully or open. When full grown, the larva cuts a small round hole in one side of the bud, crawls out, and drops to the ground where it constructs an elongate, white cocoon, either on top of or slightly beneath the surface. Particles of soil and debris are fastened to the outer surface so that the cocoon is effectively hidden. The early instar larvae are rather nondescript with faint whitish tan coloration. The later instars develop pinkish brown coloration. The anterior part of each body segment is darker and more boldly colored than the posterior section, which results in a somewhat banded appearance. Pupation occurs in mid to late summer. The adults emerge shortly thereafter, although part of the brood may overwinter in the cocoons.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Mompha stellella is found in eastern North America in southern Canada (Ontario; Quebec) and the eastern US. Local populations are most common in the northeastern US and become more scattered farther west and south. This species ranges as far west as Missouri and as far south as Florida. In North Carolina, almost all of our records as of 2022 are from the lower mountains where all but one are based on rearing records or observations of distorted flower buds. We have one record from the Coastal Plain (Fort Macon State Park) that is currently assigned to this species.
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)

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