Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Gelechiidae Members:	Dichomeris Members:	21 NC Records

Dichomeris ochripalpella (Zeller, 1873) - Shining Dichomeris

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Gelechioidea

Family:
Gelechiidae

Subfamily:
Dichomeridinae

P3 Number:
59a0554

MONA Number:
2289.00

Comments: Dichomeris is a large genus with several hundred species that occur throughout the world. Hodges (1986) recognized 74 species in North America north of Mexico, with 19 species groups. Most are leaftiers and they use a taxonomically diverse array of plant hosts, including members of 18 families of plants in North America. As of 2025, North Carolina has 35 documented species, and at least one undescribed species from the Sandhills.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)

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

Technical Description, Adults: Hodges (1986)

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Loeffler (1994)

Adult Markings: This is a distinctive and easily recognizable species with bright orange labial palps. The forewing has bands of metallic silvery-blue scales that are intermixed with larger, intense brown blotches. Orangish scales are often scattered within the dark marks, and are organized to form a costal spot at three-fourths the length on the costal margin (Hodges, 1986). A longitudinal band of silvery-blue scales occur along the costal margin from the wing base to three-fourths the wing length where it terminates at the orange spot. There is also a band of silver-blue scales on the fold at three-fourths the length of the fold, and in the subterminal region. Three large, dark-brown blotches fill up the remainder of the wing: one along the inner margin on the basal half, a second near the middle of the wing at three-fourths, and the last in the subterminal area. The outer margin has a line of dark-brown scales and the adjoining fringe has a mixture of orangish and brown scale patches.

Forewing Length: 5.4-6.5 mm (Hodges, 1986).

Adult Structural Features: Hodges (1986) has illustrations of the male and female genitalia.

Genitalia and other structural photos

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

Immatures and Development: Almost all of our knowledge of the larval life history is based on Loeffler's (1994) detailed studies of this and other Dichomeris species that feed on goldenrods and asters in central New York and surrounding areas. Loeffler (1994) reported that the adults of this and several other Dichomeris species eclose in late-June in central New York and lay eggs singly in July -- and perhaps into August -- on the undersides of leaves. The hatchings grow slowly and reach the second through fourth instars when 3-5 mm long by October. They then drop to the ground and overwinter in the litter. They emerge in late-April or early-May and climb onto fresh shoots where they resume feeding and grow rapidly. Final instars began appearing as early as late-May in warm years, and pupae are present by early to mid-June, with the pupal stage lasting about two weeks. The peak of adult eclosion is in late-June through early-July.

The larvae of D. ochripalpella feed on goldenrods and asters and live within tight leaf folds. Their feeding damage consists mainly of pits and indentations in the leaf margin outside of the fold. The youngest larvae of this and other summer-feeding species are incapable of folding or rolling leaves. Hatchlings initially move into hiding places such as cracks or crannies on the leaf undersides. They may also take shelter among clusters of aphid galls, or in abandoned leaf mines or leaf folds of other moths (Loeffler, 1994). The young larvae eventually spin silk mats that are commonly placed along the leaf midrib, then live beneath these. The larvae feed either beneath the mats, or a few millimeters outside of the mats, and leave small pits where the leaf surface is skeletonized. Expansion of the mats with time causes the leaf to fold over the silk mat and create a larger shelter for feeding and hiding. Individuals either remain in a single leaf fold for the entire summer, or leave their refuges and construct new ones several times before overwintering. Overwintering occurs on the ground in winter refuges that are made from short folds on senescent leaves. The refugia are sealed at the ends, and the larvae escape after the spring leaf-out to resume feeding on the host plants. The adults show a preference for ovipositing on tall ramets so that eggs and summer-hatching larvae are concentrated on the tallest host plant species (i.e., Solidago altissima).

The final instars have a pale green to greenish-white abdomen with darker greenish lateral stripes. These terminate in the middle of the terminal segment so that there is no V-shaped mark at the end of the abdomen as seen in some Dichomeris species. The dorsal tubercles along the abdomen are readily visible, and the final instars are small relative to many other Dichomeris species that feed on goldenrods (13.5-15.5 mm in length). The head, prothorax and mesothorax are black, and the mesothorax has a line of white patches on the posterior margin.

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

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Dichomeris ochripalpella is found in eastern North America, including southeastern Canada (Ontario; Quebec; New Brunswick; Newfoundland) and much of the eastern US. The range in the US extends from Maine westward through the Great Lakes region to Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota, and southward to eastern Texas, southern Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. This species appears to be uncommon in the southeastern Coastal Plain and in areas outside of the southern Appalachians. We have records from all three physiographic provinces, with the great majority from the Blue Ridge. Records from coastal habitats in the Croatan National Forest and vicinity may represent a disjunct group from those in the Blue Ridge.

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 been documented from May through October in different areas of the range, with a seasonal peak in June and July. As of 2025, our records extend from early-June through early-August, with a seasonal peak in July.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Loeffler (1994) reared adults from larvae that were found in forests, small and large fields, and woodland openings and noted that the larvae were evenly distributed among these habitats. Larvae were also found on plants in gravel bars along streams, which may have been a potentially important goldenrod habitat before European colonization.

Larval Host Plants: Loeffler (1994) conducted a comprehensive study of host use by this and other Dichomeris species in the Northeast that use goldenrods and asters and documented the following hosts: White Wood-aster (Eurybia divaricata), Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima), White Goldenrod (S. bicolor), Bluestem Goldenrod (S. caesia), Zigzag Goldenrod (S. flexicaulis), Giant Goldenrod (S. gigantea), Early Goldenrod (S. juncea), Northern Roughleaf Goldenrod (S. patula), Wrinkle-leaf Goldenrod (S. rugosa), Heartleaf Aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium), White Panicle Aster (S. lanceolatum), Calico Aster (S. lateriflorum), New England Aster (S. novae-angliae), Crooked-stem Aster (S. prenanthoides) and Wavyleaf Aster (S. undulatum). - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and the larvae can be found in leaf folds on goldenrods and asters in late-summer.

Wikipedia

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S3S4]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Dichomeris ochripalpella - Shining Dichomeris

Photos: 12

	Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-07-13 Watauga Co. Comment: iNat record - iNat: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/297859125		Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-06-17 Watauga Co. Comment: iNat record - iNat: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/298728980
	Recorded by: Lior S. Carlson, Dean Furbish on 2024-06-17 Lincoln Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-26 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-26 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2023-07-16 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-07-10 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-07-05 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2021-06-08 Onslow Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2021-06-08 Onslow Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-07-06 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-07-06 Madison Co. Comment: