Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGlyphipterigidae Members: Diploschizia Members: 23 NC Records

Diploschizia lanista (Meyrick, 1918) - No Common Name

Diploschizia lanistaDiploschizia lanistaDiploschizia lanista
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Yponomeutoidea		 Family:
Glyphipterigidae		Subfamily:
Glyphipteriginae		P3 Number:
36a0218		 MONA Number:
2345.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Heppner (1985)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Diploschizia lanista is a very small grayish-brown to reddish-brown moth with a large, narrow, white crescent on the dorsal margin of the forewing, and four white streaks on the apical third of the costa. The following detailed description is based on that of Heppner (1981). The labial palp is white dorsally, with both the second and third segments having two alternating bands of black and white. The head is grayish-fuscous and has a small white posterolateral eye margin. The antenna is fuscous dorsally, while the thorax and patagia are grayish-fuscous. The forewing is grayish-fuscous over the basal two-thirds, and dark fuscous on the apical third. The dorsal margin has a large white crescent at the midwing, with the point directed towards the apex. The costal margin has a white oblique streak at around two-thirds the wing length that projects towards the tornus. It is followed by three shorter white streaks near the apex. All of the costal streaks are thinly margined with dark-brown scales. In addition to the streaks, the tornus has a white spot, while the apex has a black spot. The fringe is fuscous, except for being white near the terminal edge, and having a white mark at its falcate indentation. The hindwing and fringe are both fuscous, while the legs are fuscous with white at the joints.

Diploschizia lanista can be confused with D. impigritella, but the latter has five white streaks on the costa instead of four as seen on D. lanista (Heppner, 1985).
Forewing Length: 2.7-4.0 mm (Heppner, 1981).
Adult Structural Features: Heppner (1981) has illustrations and descriptions of the male genitalia.
Genitalia and other structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: As of 2025, we are unaware of any documentation of the larval life history.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Diploschizia lanista is restricted to the southeastern Coastal Plain from southeastern North Carolina southward to southern Florida. Specimens have also been collected in Texas, and MPG has one specimen from Oklahoma. As of 2025, all of our records are from the Sandhills.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Diploschizia lanistaAlamance 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: The adults are active year-round in Florida, and from March through October at sites farther north. As of 2025, our records extend from early-April through mid-October. Local populations in North Carolina appear to be multivoltine.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: All of our current records for this species come from the Fall-line Sandhills and sites with a high clay content, including bean dips, seeps, and mixed oak woodlands.
Larval Host Plants: The hosts are apparently undocumented. Related species feed on nut-sedges (Cyperus species). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Loamy, Fire-maintained Herblands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR SNR [S1S2]
State Protection:
Comments: This species is relatively rare throughout its range and reaches its northern range limit in the Sandhills, where it appears to be restricted to sites with high clay content such as bean dips.

 Photo Gallery for Diploschizia lanista - None

Photos: 4
Diploschizia lanista
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rob Van Epps, Kevin Metcalf on 2025-07-20
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Diploschizia lanista
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Larry Chen, Sarah Toner, Joye Zhou on 2025-06-20
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Diploschizia lanista
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-05-24
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Diploschizia lanista
Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 2022-09-26
Scotland Co.
Comment: