Identification
Adult Markings: Filatima serotinella is easily recognized by the prominent labial brush, its overall blackish coloration, and the presence of a prominent chocolate-brown streak along the costa that terminates at a white costal spot. The following detailed description is based on that of Busck (1903a). The dorsum of the head and thorax have a mixture of white and purplish black scales, with the latter predominating. The antenna is purplish black, with very narrow and indistinct whitish annulations. The second joint of the labial palp is whitish above and strongly sprinkled with black scales, while the underside of the well-developed brush is black. The terminal joint is black with white at the extreme tip. The ground color of the forewing is black with white scales irregularly interspersed. A light chocolate-brown streak extends along the costa from the wing base to about three-fourths where it meets a costal white spot. An opposing whitish spot that is often ill-defined is present on the inner margin, and the two are sometimes connected to produce a faint fascia. The cilia are dark fuscous, with whitish scales intermixed, and fresh specimens often have one or two faint blackish lines that parallel the edge of the wing. The hindwing is dark shining fuscous, and the cilia light fuscous. The abdomen is yellowish brown on the first segments, and dark fuscous on the remaining segments. The legs are mostly dark fuscous to blackish with paler bands and annulations. The species is similar to F. pseudoacaciella , but is larger and lacks prominent whitish spotting along the costal region.
Forewing Length: 16-21 mm (Busck, 1903a)
Adult Structural Features: Busck (1939) has illustrations of the male and female genitalia.
Structural photos
Immatures and Development: This species specializes on Black Cherry. Females lay eggs singly on the upper side at the tip of a leaf, and the hatchling folds the edges of the leaf downward and binds them with silk. As it grows it progressively folds more of the leaf together, and covers the open end with a white sheet of silk (Busck, 1903a). The larva lives in a black silken tube covered with frass, and skeletonizes the leaf from within the leaf fold. Busck (1903a) noted that the larva will quickly retreat into its tube of frass when disturbed. The full-grown larva pupates within the leaf fold within an oval cocoon. The young larva has a black head and thoracic shield and a dirty greenish white body, with two narrow longitudinal dark-brown dorsal lines and four (two on each side side) broader lateral lines through all the segments. Full grown larvae are 20-24 mm long and the head and thoracic shield are light brown. The ground color of the body becomes lighter with age, and the stripes more reddish (Busck, 1903a). Populations that were studied in the District of Columbia are bivoltine, with young larvae first appearing in May and the adults emerging in late July and early in August. The second generation overwinters as full-grown larvae in their cocoons, and the adults emerge the following spring.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
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