Moths of North Carolina

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

Home

View PDF	Gelechiidae Members:	Mesophleps Members:	22 NC Records

Mesophleps adustipennis (Walsingham, 1897) - Soybean Webworm Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Gelechioidea

Family:
Gelechiidae

Subfamily:
Anacampsinae

P3 Number:
59a0500

MONA Number:
2272.00

Comments: The genus Mesophleps contains over 50 species, with all but Mesophleps adustipennis occurring in the Old World. It is currently treated by experts as being native to the New World.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

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

Technical Description, Adults: Walsingham (1897)

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Passoa et al. (2022)

Adult Markings: Mesophleps adustipennis is a small, light yellowish-brown moth with strongly recurved, reddish-brown palps, a series of three elongated spots on the forewing, and a dark-brown band along the costa from the middle of the forewing to near the apex. The following detailed description is based in part on that of Walsingham (1897) who described specimens from the West Indies.

In this species the second segment of the labial palp is thick and covered with reddish-brown scales, except for the terminal end of the fringe that has pale scales. The third segment is smooth and light yellowish-brown. The antenna is light yellowish-brown and faintly annulated with darker rings. The head, thorax and ground color of the forewing are all light yellowish- or reddish-brown, with the costa having a dark-brown edge that begins at or just before the middle of the forewing and terminates just before the apex. Specimens typically have three small, elongated, dark spots that are margined with pale scales. The first is on the middle of the fold at around one-third the wing length from the base, the third is at the end of the cell at around three fourths, and the second is equidistant between these two and also on the cell. The fringe is a shade lighter than the ground color, and a line of three or four faint dark spots is often evident along the outer margin. The hindwing and fringe are gray, and the legs dark-brown to yellowish-brown when viewed from above.

Wingspan: 10-18 mm (Walsingham, 1897)

Adult Structural Features: Passoa et al. (2022) provide images of the male and female genitalia.

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

Immatures and Development: The larvae are polyphagous on members of the legume family (Fabaceae). They live within seed pods and feed on the seeds of the host plants. At maturity, the larvae pupate in a silken cocoon within the pod (Li and Sattler, 2012; Passoa et al., 2022). The late-instar larvae have a dark brown head and prothoracic shield, a cream-colored and somewhat transparent body, and a pale yellow anal shield (Passoa et al., 2022.

Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from close inspection of specimens or by DNA analysis.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Mesophleps adustipennis has tropical and subtropical affinities. It is found in the western and southern parts of the United States, and in Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Cuba, the West Indies, Venezuela, Ecuador (Galapagos Islands), Peru and Brazil (Li and Sattler, 2012; Wikipedia). In the US it occurs in southern and central California, and in the Southeast from southern Texas northward to northeastern Oklahoma, then eastward through the Gulf Coast states and western Tennessee to Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. The range continues north along the Atlantic Seaboard to Virginia, Maryland and southern New Jersey. This species is absent from the Appalachian region. As of 2025, our records are from the eastern Piedmont, the Sandhills and a barrier island off of the southern coast.

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 fly year-round in Florida, and mostly from May through December elsewhere. As of 2025, our records are from mid-April through mid-November, with local populations in North Carolina appearing to produce at least two broods per year.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Our records include xeric communities in the Sandhills, and both deciduous forests and disturbed, residential neighborhoods in the Piedmont.

Larval Host Plants: The larvae feed on a variety of tropical and subtropical legumes (Heppner 2007, 2013; Passoa et al. 2022). These include one or more species of Bauhinia, Caesalpinia, Cajanus, Crotalaria, Glycine, Leucaena, Mimosa, Parkinsonia, Prosopis, Tephrosia and Vachellia. As of 2025, we are unaware of any documentation of the native hosts that are used in the US. - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.

Wikipedia

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S3S4]

State Protection:

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Mesophleps adustipennis - Soybean Webworm Moth

Photos: 27

	Recorded by: David George on 2025-06-29 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George on 2025-06-29 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2024-04-14 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-06-28 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-06-07 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2022-05-07 Pender Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2021-11-19 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2021-11-19 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-11-11 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-11-09 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-10-23 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-10-06 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-09-11 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-08-30 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-06-25 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-06-01 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-10-21 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-10-21 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-10-11 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-10-11 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-10-01 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-09-19 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-09-05 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-09-05 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-03 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-03 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-03 Guilford Co. Comment: