Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« Home »
View PDFGelechiidae Members: Coleotechnites Members: 9 NC Records

Coleotechnites carbonaria (Freeman, 1965) - No Common Name

Coleotechnites carbonariaColeotechnites carbonariaColeotechnites carbonaria
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Gelechioidea		 Family:
Gelechiidae		Subfamily:
Gelechiinae		P3 Number:
59a0717		 MONA Number:
1798.00
Comments: The genus Coleotechnites includes 49 very small species that occur in North America. Most species are specialists on conifers and tend to feed on a single genus of host plant. Many of the Coleotechnites species have almost identical genitalia that are not very useful in delineating closely related forms (Freeman, 1960; 1965). Freeman (1960) noted that host plants and the mining characteristics often provide the most reliable way to identify closely related species.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following is mostly based on the original description by Freeman (1965) for specimens from Ontario. The antenna has alternate black and white to pale-brown bands. The second segment of the labial palp is white, while the third is white with a subapical and a sub-basal black band. The face is white and the vertex grey with black-tipped scales. The forewing is black, with white oblique fasciae and ochreous scales. The basal fourth is black, particularly on the costa, and lighter at the trailing margin. A black spot of raised scales is present below the fold, and beyond the basal patch there is an outwardly-oblique white fascia that is bordered outwardly with brownish-ochreous scales. A short, outwardly-oblique white costal streak is present at one-half that is often reduced to a spot on the costa, and that is bordered outwardly with brownish scales. At the apical fourth there is an outwardly angled, transverse white fascia that is followed by brownish-ochreous scales. Between the outer fascia and the basal patch below the fold, there are three almost equidistant black spots. The apical fourth has submarginal black dots, while the apical fringe is fuscous, with black scales basally, and with white-tipped scales apically. The abdomen is black, and the legs have alternate black and white bands.

Freeman (1965) described this species from a single site in Ontario where the larvae were feeding on an ornamental juniper. We currently have no information on geographic variation in the external maculation of this species, or reliable information on its geographic distribution. Here, we tentatively treat a dark Coleotechnites that mostly fits the description of this species as C. carbonaria. It deviates from the original description by not having the antenna as boldly banded with black-and-white, and by having dark scales on the second segment of the labial palp. A specimen from the Mississippi Entomological Museum has these same characters (see MPG) and is currently treated as this species.
Wingspan: 7.5-10.0 mm (Freeman, 1965).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
Immatures and Development: The following is based on Freeman (1965; 1967), who observed larvae feeding on an ormanental juniper in Ontario, Canada. The larva starts mining the terminal leaves and the stem in late summer and leaves frass in the mines. It mines from the tip of the branchlet toward the base, and overwinters in the stem or in mined leaves. In the spring the larva continues mining the stem, and hollows out the leaves from the inside. The frass is left in the leaves, and along and in the stem. Larvae pupate in the twig in late-May in a short, frass-covered silk tube at the base of the damaged leaves.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Coleotechnites carbonariaAlamance 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.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are leaf-miners in Juniperus, including ornamental species (Freeman, 1965). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Cedar Woodlands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S1S3
State Protection:
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Coleotechnites carbonaria - None

Photos: 11
Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-07-23
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-07-23
Madison Co.
Comment:
Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-03-05
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-03-05
Madison Co.
Comment:
Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-03-04
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-03-03
Madison Co.
Comment:
Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-03-03
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-03-03
Madison Co.
Comment:
Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-06-17
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-06-17
Madison Co.
Comment:
Coleotechnites carbonaria
Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2022-05-31
Durham Co.
Comment: