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

Dichomeris nonstrigella (Chambers, 1878) - Little Devil Moth

Dichomeris nonstrigellaDichomeris nonstrigellaDichomeris nonstrigella
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Gelechioidea		 Family:
Gelechiidae		Subfamily:
Dichomeridinae		P3 Number:
59a0553		 MONA Number:
2307.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Hodges (1986)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Loeffler (1994)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Dichomeris nonstrigella is distinctive in having a uniformly dark violet-brown forewing that is immaculate, a contrasting orange labial palp, and an antenna with the basal two-thirds heavily clothed with long scales that make it appear thick (Hodges, 1986). The legs and antenna are concolorous with the forewings. This species is very similar to D. purpureofusca, but the latter has an antenna that is uniformly narrow throughout its length.
Forewing Length: 5.6-7.2 mm (Hodges, 1986).
Adult Structural Features: Hodges (1986) has illustrations and descriptions of the male and female genitalia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae feed on the leaves of goldenrods and asters. Loeffler (1994) reported that the youngest larvae of this and other goldenrod feeders are incapable of folding or rolling leaves. Instead, the hatchlings initially move into hiding places such as cracks or crannies on the leaf undersides, among clusters of aphid galls, or in abandoned leaf mines or leaf folds of other moths. They eventually spin silk mats that are commonly placed along the leaf midrib and live and feed beneath these. Loeffler (1994) noted that those of D. nonstrigella are unusually long, with tunnel-like expansions often extending from the midrib along a lateral vein. 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 leaf mat. Individuals may either remain in a single leaf fold for the entire summer, or abandon their refuge and construct one or more new ones before overwintering. Overwintering occurs on the ground in winter refuges. These are made from short folds on senescent leaves and are sealed at the ends with silk.

Loeffler (1994) found that the adults eclose in June in central New York and lay eggs shortly thereafter. Females lay eggs singly on the undersides of leaves, and the hatchings grow slowly over the summer and reach the penultimate instar when > 6 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. The final instar is attained by early- to mid-May, and the pupal stage lasted about two weeks.

The final instar larvae have a series of seven broad, light-brown, longitudinal stripes on the abdomen that alternate with pale-green to whitish stripes. The thorax is dark-brown to blackish-brown and has white spots on the posterior margins of both the meso- and metathorax. There are also two raised, black tubercles on each of these thoracic segments (Loeffler, 1994.) The final instars are 13.5-15.5 mm long.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Dichomeris nonstrigella is found in eastern North America where it has northern affinities. The range includes portions of southeastern Canada (Ontario; Quebec; New Brunswick; Nova Scotia) and the US from Maine westward to Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota and southward to eastern Missouri, Arkansas, central Mississippi, Kentucky, Virginia and western North Carolina. This species is apparently absent from the southeastern Coastal Plain and Piedmont. As of 2025, all of our records are from lower-elevation sites in the Blue Ridge, and only from the central and northern counties.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Dichomeris nonstrigellaAlamance 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: Local populations are univoltine, with the adults flying from May through July in different areas of the range. As of 2025, our records extend from late-May through late-June.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Loeffler (1994) collected larvae and reared adults that were found in large fields, along roadsides, and in forest openings. As of 2025, our habitat records include semi-wooded residential neighborhoods, a college campus, and forested habitats with secondary roads.
Larval Host Plants: The larvae feed on both goldenrods and asters. Braun reared adults from Short's Aster (Symphyotrichum shortii; Hodges, 1986), while Loeffler (1994) found larvae on Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima), Giant Goldenrod (S. gigantea) and Wrinkle-leaf Goldenrod (S. rugosa). - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and are often seen resting on vegetation during the day. Information is needed on host use in North Carolina.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks:
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: Loeffler (1994) reported that this species showed marked regional variation in abundance; large larval populations were found in certain fields in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, while they were rarely found elsewhere. This suggests that local populations are spottily distributed across the range of this species, including in North Carolina.

 Photo Gallery for Dichomeris nonstrigella - Little Devil Moth

Photos: 5
Dichomeris nonstrigella
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-06
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Dichomeris nonstrigella
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-06
Madison Co.
Comment:
Dichomeris nonstrigella
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-06
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Dichomeris nonstrigella
Recorded by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn on 2020-06-02
Alleghany Co.
Comment:
Dichomeris nonstrigella
Recorded by: Kyle Kittelberger, Brian Bockhahn on 2020-06-02
Alleghany Co.
Comment: