Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGelechiidae Members: Monochroa Members: 2 NC Records

Monochroa gilvolinella (Clemens, 1863) - No Common Name

Monochroa gilvolinella
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Gelechioidea		 Family:
Gelechiidae		Subfamily:
Anomologinae		P3 Number:
59a0625		 MONA Number:
1710.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Clemens (1863).                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is based in part by the original description by Clemens (1863). The head, thorax and forewing have an overall dark tan to fuscous coloration. The labial palps are strongly recurved, with the second segment dark brown and the terminal segment light-tan to yellowish, except for a dark-brown basal region. The antenna is brown with light-yellow to whitish annulations that are more widely-space on the apical fourth. The head and thorax are light-fuscous, with a small blackish spot at the posterior tip of the latter.

The forewing varies from pale-yellow to light-tan and is overlain with varying amounts of darker dusting. The basal third below the costa is lightly dusted relative to the rest of the wing, and most specimens have a well-defined, dark patch of scales along the inner margin at around one-third the wing length. There is also heavy dusting that begins narrowly along the costa at around one-half and progressively broadens posteriorly to the apex. An oblique, pale-yellow to dull-whitish line extends from the costa at around four-fifths the wing length to the outer margin just below the apex, while a black spot is present just basal to the line near the middle of the wing. The fringe is light yellowish-fuscous except for a dark-brown to blackish basal line that extends from where the whitish line strikes the costa to the apex, then continues to the sub-tornal region. It is interrupted by two or three white spots along the costal and cut by three whitish streaks between the apex and the tornus. The hindwing is fuscous with a concolorous fringe.
Adult Structural Features: Moth Photographers Group and BugGuide have an illustration of the male genitalia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
Immatures and Development: As of 2025, we are unaware of any documentation of the larval life history.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Monochroa gilvolinella in found in the eastern US and extreme southern Ontario, with most records extending as a band from New Hampshire, New York and Pennsylvania westward to Illinois and eastern Iowa. A few scattered records are also known from Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and northwestern Mississippi. As of 2025, we have only two records from the central and northern Blue Ridge.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Monochroa gilvolinellaAlamance 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: Local populations appear to be univoltine; they have been documented from June through August in different areas of the range, with a strong seasonal peak in July. As of 2025, our two records are both from July.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: The habitats are poorly documented.
Larval Host Plants: The hosts are apparently undocumented. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights, but perhaps only weakly so.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S2]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: Monochroa gilvolinella is rare to uncommon throughout its range. As of 2025, we have only two records that likely are part of a group that is disjunct from the main range farther north.

 Photo Gallery for Monochroa gilvolinella - None

Photos: 1
Monochroa gilvolinella
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-07-18
Madison Co.
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