Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Cosmopterigidae Members:	Cosmopterix Members:	5 NC Records

Cosmopterix lespedezae (Walsingham, 1882) - No Common Name

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Taxonomy

Family:
Cosmopterigidae

Subfamily:
Cosmopteriginae

P3 Number:
59a0363

MONA Number:
1482.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Koster (2010)

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Braun (1930)

Adult Markings: Cosmopterix lespedezae closely resembles several other Cosmopterix species (e.g., C. teligera) and cannot be identified with certainty using external characters (Koster, 2010). Accurate identification is best achieved by using genitalia or by rearing adults from host plants. The following description focuses on forewing and antenna patterning, and is based on a more detailed description presented by Koster (2010) that applies to both C. lespedezae and C. teligera.

The head and dorsal thorax region have three white lines (two lateral; one medial). The scape is white below and dark brown above with a white anterior line. The antenna is dark brown, with a short white line at the base that changes into an interrupted line that extends to beyond one-half the wing length. This is followed towards the apex by the following sequence: six dark brown segments, two or three white segments, two dark brown segments, two white segments, ten dark brown segments, and eight white segments at the apex. The forewing is dark brown with four narrow white lines in the basal area. These consist of 1) a subcostal line that extends from the base to one-quarter of the wing length and bends away from the costa in the distal half, 2) a short medial line that is above the fold in the center and under the apex of the subcostal, 3) a subdorsal line that is about twice as long as the medial, but slightly further from the base, and 4) a short and very narrow dorsal line from beyond the base to one-quarter the length of the wing. The white lines in the basal area can differ in length, especially the subcostal which starts from the base in the North American specimens and beyond the base in the Neotropical ones. An orange-yellow fascia is present just beyond the middle that narrows towards the dorsum. The facia has a narrow apical protrusion, and is bordered at the inner edge by a tubercular silver to pale golden metallic fascia. There is a small subcostal patch of blackish brown scales on the outside. The outer edge of the orange-yellow fascia is bordered by two tubercular, silver or pale golden, metallic costal and dorsal spots. The dorsal spot is more than three times as large as the costal spot and more towards the base. Both spots are irregularly lined with dark brown on the inside. The transverse fascia, tubercular fascia, and spots are variable in width. There is a narrow white costal streak that extends from the costal spot to the costa. Finally, there is a white apical line that extends from or just beyond the apical protrusion to the cilia. This line is sometimes interrupted in the middle. The cilia are dark brown, but paler towards the dorsum. The hindwing is brownish gray and the cilia brown. Although C. lespedezae cannot be reliably distinguished from certain other Cosmopterix based on external morphology, the leaf mines are distinctive.

Forewing Length: ca. 4.7 mm (Koster, 2010)

Adult Structural Features: In the male, the right brachium of the uncus is short, spatulate and ventrally hollowed. The valva is boot-shaped and the anellus lobe is stout, broad beyond the middle, almost straight, and has a tip with a small ventral hook. In the female, the posterior edge of sternite VII
is concave with a very large convex section in the middle. The sterigma is elongate and tapers at both ends. The ductus bursae is about two-thirds the length of the corpus bursae, and the corpus bursae is elongate (Koster, 2010).

Koster (2010) noted that C. lespedezae cannot be distinguished with certainty from three other species and that male and female genitalia are typically required for identification. It differs from closely related forms by the short and spatulate right brachium of the uncus and by the boot-shaped valvae, and in females by the concave posterior edge of sternite VII -- with a very large convex
section in the middle -- and by the elongate sterigma which tapers basally and distally.

Immatures and Development: According to Braun (1930), the mine begins in the midrib, then spreads outward and upward between two lateral veins. The parenchyma is left in narrow transverse bars In the section of the early mine adjacent to the lower of the two lateral veins. This gives the mine a very characteristic aspect. As the mine increases in size, it extends beyond the confines of the two veins and develops irregular projections. The end of the mine where the larva is actively feeding is usually light green and contrast with the older portion of the mine that turns brown with age. All of the parenchyma is eventually consumed, and pupation occurs within the mine beneath the transverse bars. These are lined with silk to form a tubular pupal chamber. Larvae that we have observed were light green.

Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Cosmopterix lespedezae has been found at scattered localities in the eastern US, including Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, Ohio, Arkansas and Texas. Ken Kneidel recently found the first North Carolina record based on leaf mines on a Desmodium and it has since been found at a few other sites in the Sandhills and vicinity.

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
Immature 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: Moths are on the wing from early July through mid-September (Hodges, 1978).

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Populations are primary associated with early successional or open woodland habitats that support the host species.

Larval Host Plants: The hosts are poorly documented, but include several genera of legumes, including Lespedeza and Desmodium (Eiseman, 2022). In North Carolina, adults have been reared from Desmodium, including Velvety Tick-trefoil (D. viridiflorum). - View

Observation Methods: We recommend searching for the rather distinctive leaf mines and rearing the adults.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Leguminous Forb and Shrublands

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S2S4

State Protection:

Comments: This species was only recently discovered in North Carolina and we currently do not have sufficient information to determine its conservation status.

Photo Gallery for Cosmopterix lespedezae - None

Photos: 14

	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-10 Bladen Co. Comment: On Velvety Tick-trefoil (Desmodium viridiflorum).		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-10 Bladen Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-10 Bladen Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan, and Steve Hall on 2022-08-11 Scotland Co. Comment: A reared adult from a Desmodium sp. (see companion photos of the mine from 2022-07-25).
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan, and Steve Hall on 2022-08-11 Scotland Co. Comment: A second reared adult from a Desmodium sp. (see companion photos of the mine from 2022-07-25).		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan, and Steve Hall on 2022-08-11 Scotland Co. Comment: A second reared adult from a Desmodium sp. (see companion photos of the mine from 2022-07-25).
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan, and Steve Hall on 2022-08-11 Scotland Co. Comment: A reared adult from a Desmodium sp. (see companion photos of the mine from 2022-07-25).		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan, and Steve Hall on 2022-08-11 Scotland Co. Comment: A second reared adult from a Desmodium sp. (see companion photos of the mine from 2022-07-25).
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Steve Hall, and Bo Sullivan on 2022-07-25 Scotland Co. Comment: Occupied mines were on a large Desmodium sp. (probably either D. nuttallii or D. viridiflorum).		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Steve Hall, and Bo Sullivan on 2022-07-25 Scotland Co. Comment: Occupied mines were on a large Desmodium sp. (probably either D. nuttallii or D. viridiflorum).
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Steve Hall, and Bo Sullivan on 2022-07-25 Scotland Co. Comment: Occupied mines were on a large Desmodium sp. (probably either D. nuttallii or D. viridiflorum). Occupied mines were on a large Desmodium sp. (probably either D. nuttallii or D. viridiflorum).		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Steve Hall, and Bo Sullivan on 2022-07-25 Scotland Co. Comment: Occupied mines were on a large Desmodium sp. (probably either D. nuttallii or D. viridiflorum; pers. comm. with Bruce Sorrie).
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2021-09-19 Mecklenburg Co. Comment: iNat record - host plant is Desmodium, likely canescens https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/96238829		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2021-09-19 Mecklenburg Co. Comment: iNat record - host plant is Desmodium, likely canescens https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/96238829