Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGelechiidae Members: Telphusa Members: 9 NC Records

Telphusa perspicua (Walsingham, 1897) - No Common Name

Telphusa perspicuaTelphusa perspicuaTelphusa perspicua
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Gelechioidea		 Family:
Gelechiidae		Subfamily:
Gelechiinae		P3 Number:
59a0691.8		 MONA Number:
1858.20
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Walsingham (1897)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is based in part on the original description by Walsingham (1897). The antenna has a very long and slender basal joint, and is dark-brown and faintly annulated with dull-white. The labial palp is very long, recurved, and slender, and terminates near the back of the head. The terminal segment is about as long or longer than the pale-colored second segment, and is predominantly brown with some whitish-ocherous mottling. The head is pale-gray and the thorax dark-brown with lighter, fine speckling. The forewing ground color is dark-brown with lighter speckling or fine mottling, and often has patches of iridescent-green reflections. The most prominent mark is a wide, blackish, outwardly-oblique basal band that extends from the costa to the inner margin, and is margined mostly outwardly by a thin line of white scales. The middle of the wing has a wide, blackish, semi-lunate blotch with a lighter center that begins on the costa before one-half the wing length, then curves outwardly to the center of the wing before curving back to the costa at around three-fifths the wing length. This is commonly followed by one or two irregularly-shaped blackish blotches on the apical fourth of the wing that are sometimes weakly connected to the central blotch. Fresh specimens have four to five dorsal scale tufts on the thorax and below the inner margin that vary from dull-white or pale to dark-brown with associated white scale patches. The legs are mostly blackish with annulations on the ends of the tarsal segments, while the hindwing is brown to dark-gray, with a broad, whitish region inwardly on the basal two-thirds.

The wing pattern is variable, with the wide basal band being most consistent, so expect deviations from the general description above.
Adult Structural Features: See images of the male and female genitalia of North Carolina specimens below.
Genitalia and other structural photos
Immatures and Development: As of 2025, the larval life history is undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Telphusa perspicua is restricted to the southeastern Coastal Plain where it occurs from south-central Texas eastward across the Gulf Coast states to northern and central Florida, then northward to North Carolina. As of 2025, we have scattered records that are all from habitats near the coast.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Telphusa perspicuaAlamance 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: The adults have been observed during every month of the year and presumably produce several broods per year in most areas of the range. As of 2025, our fragmented records extend from mid-March through late-December.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: As of 2025, our records are mostly from maritime forests and coastal dunes and scrub habitats.
Larval Host Plants: The host plants are apparently unknown. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S2S3]
State Protection:
Comments: This species appears to reach its northern limit in North Carolina, where we have only a few scattered records as of 2025.

 Photo Gallery for Telphusa perspicua - None

Photos: 6
Telphusa perspicua
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-03-12
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Telphusa perspicua
Recorded by: David George, Randy Newman on 2024-10-28
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Telphusa perspicua
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-06-17
New Hanover Co.
Comment: 		Telphusa perspicua
Recorded by: Larry Chen on 2023-05-28
Dare Co.
Comment:
Telphusa perspicua
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2023-05-21
New Hanover Co.
Comment: 		Telphusa perspicua
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-05-28
Carteret Co.
Comment: