Moths of North Carolina

Scientific Name:	Common Name:		Family (Alpha): Choose a Family

Home

View PDF	Gelechiidae Members:	Anacampsis Members:	3 NC Records

Anacampsis fragariella Busck, 1904 - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Gelechioidea

Family:
Gelechiidae

Subfamily:
Anacampsinae

P3 Number:
59a0477

MONA Number:
2235.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

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

Technical Description, Adults: Ferguson (1940)

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Ferguson (1940)

Adult Markings: Anacampsis fragariella has a light, purplish-brown ground color on the forewing that is overlain with medium-brown to dark, purplish-brown patterning. The primary dark marks include a faint, diffuse antemedial band that extends from the inner margin and terminates before reaching the costa, a median band that is usually represented as two diffuse spots near the center of the wing, and a broad post-medial band at around three-fourths the wing length. A white costal spot adjoins the posterior edge of the band, and the subterminal region between the band and the outer margin is more-or-less concolorous with the forewing ground color. The outer margin has a row of dark spots, and the adjoining fringe is two-toned, with the inner band darker than the outer. The thorax and head are light purplish-brown and the antenna has alternating brown and pale gray rings. The labial palp is tan-colored, with a tan scale tuft on the second segment. The eyes are red, and the legs mostly brown with a few pale metatarsal bands.

Wingspan: 15 to 16 mm (Ferguson, 1940).

Genitalia and other structural photos

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: The following summary of the life cycle is based on Ferguson’s (1940) study in western Oregon, where this species is a minor pest on strawberries. In this area there is one generation annually, with overwintering occurring in the egg stage on the old strawberry leaves. The larvae hatch in late-April and early-May and feed on the new growth. They initially feed between the folds of the developing leaflets, then switch to rolling the leaflets and webbing them together. The final instars pupate within the leaf rolls during late-June and early-July and do not spin a cocoon. The adults emerge during the middle and latter part of July, and the females oviposit on the leaves, along the leaf mid-rib, and on the larger leaf veins for a period lasting as long as a month. The larval stage last 5-6 weeks, followed by a pupal stage that last 2-3 weeks. The average clutch size in 1937 and 1938 was 100 and 43 eggs, respectively.

The larvae are 13-15 mm long when full grown (Ferguson, 1940). They are cream-colored with a light brown or tan head capsule. Each body segment has from three to five black dots laterally, and when viewed from above there appears to be a triple row of black dots on each side of the mid-dorsal line. The thoracic dots are larger and more conspicuous than the abdominal ones. The pupae average 8 mm in length and vary from light- to a dark-brown.

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

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Anacampsis fragariella is primarily found at northern latitudes, with scattered records from the northeastern US and adjoining areas of southern New Brunswick and southern Ontario. It also occurs in western North America in Alaska, the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, the Pacific Northwest and California, although the taxonomic status of these populations is not fully resolved. In the eastern US the range extends from New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island southward to Maryland, Pennsylvania and southern Ohio. Isolated populations are also known from farther south and west in North Carolina, northern Alabama, Missouri, Wisconsin, northern Illinois, northern Indiana and southern Michigan. As of 2025, we have records from one site in the Blue Ridge and another in Montgomery County in the Piedmont, with the latter being tentatively assigned to this species.

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
Flight Comments: The adults have mostly been observed from June through October in different areas of the range, with peak activity in July through September. As of 2025, we have only three records, one from late-May in the extreme eastern Piedmont, and two others from late-September and early-October from a lower-elevation site in the Blue Ridge.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Local populations are commonly found in open habitats such as fields and woodland edges, and can become minor pests in cultivated strawberry fields.

Larval Host Plants: The larvae appear to specialize on members of the Rosaceae. The recorded hosts include strawberries (Fragaria sp.), Horkelia, cinquefoils (Potentilla) and Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus) (Ferguson, 1940; Powell and Opler, 2009; Shropshire and Tallamy, 2025). Most of the feeding records are from western North America, and little is known about host preference for eastern populations. As of 2025, we do not have any feeding records for North Carolina. - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and the larvae can be found in leaf rolls during the summer months.

Wikipedia

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S1S3]

State Protection:

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Anacampsis fragariella - None

Photos: 3

	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-09-24 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-09-24 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-10-06 Madison Co. Comment: