Moths of North Carolina
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Olethreutes Members:
4 NC Records

Olethreutes hippocastanum (Kearfott, 1907) - No Common Name

Olethreutes hippocastanumOlethreutes hippocastanumOlethreutes hippocastanum
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Tortricoidea		 Family:
Tortricidae		Subfamily:
Olethreutinae		Tribe:
Olethreutini		P3 Number:
51a0570		 MONA Number:
2802.00
Comments: Olethreutes is a large genus with over 130 recognized species worldwide. North America has around 80 recognized species, with at least 37 species occurring in North Carolina. Some species are very difficult to identify due to interspecific similarities in color and forewing pattern and only subtle differences in genitalia (Gilligan et al., 2008). In many instances, knowledge of the host plant is essential for a confident determination. All of the Nearctic species are leaf-tiers or leaf-rollers on deciduous trees and shrubs.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Kearfott (1907); Braun (1951). Technical Description, Immature Stages: Braun (1951)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Olethreutes hippocastanum is one of several Olethreutes species that feed on buckeyes and closely resembles O. appalachiana, another buckeye feeder. The median fascia and patches on the forewing are brown and the areas between typically have a tan, reddish-brown or pinkish-brown cast. The basal blotch is typically split longitudinally into two separate blotches, along with a third squarish blotch on the costa. The following detailed description is based on that of Kearfott (1907) and Braun (1951).

The antenna is brown and darker near the base. The palp is cream-colored, with the outside of the tuft on the second segment stained with blackish fuscous on the inner half of the upper edge, and on the lower outer end of the tuft. The apical segment is black with a tiny whitish dot on the extreme apex. The head is tawny to reddish- or olivaceous-brown, often with some darker blackish-brown shading, while the thorax varies from reddish-brown to dark brown and has a transverse darker bar. The tips of the tegulae are pale colored. The larger forewing marks, including the basal patches, medial fascia, pretornal patch, outer costal spots and postmedial bar are all dark brown to reddish-brown and thinly margined with paler scales.

The basal area of the forewing has a background of reddish-brown scales and fine blackish or fuscous lines or specks, along with two or three larger and darker outer blotches. These include a squarish mark on the costa and two irregular marks inward that are split longitudinally by the general ground color. The antemedial and postmedial pale areas that surround the medial fascia and larger dark patches on the apical half of the wing are leaden metallic with an overlay of reddish-brown scales and blackish or reddish-fuscous center lines. The antemedial pale area sometimes broadens and forks toward the inner margin to cuts off a triangular patch from the basal area, which may be reduced to a dorsal dash in some specimens.

Both teeth on the medial fascia are short and widely separated, with the upper (costal) one narrower, and the lower one broader and bluntly rounded. At the base of the sinus between them there is a small, circular and more or less clearly defined dark patch. Below the teeth the medial band is deeply indented or even separated from the costal half of the band by an intrusion of the pale postmedial area. The dorsal portion of the band is variously shaped and sometimes abruptly contracted near the dorsum to a mere stalk. In some specimens the medial fascia may be broken up into a costal tooth, a detached middle tooth, and a dorsal patch near the inner margin. The pretornal patch and postmedial bar are variable in shape. The fringe is tawny to ferruginous-fuscous, with a dark basal line and blackish-fuscous bars, with the broadest at the apex. The hindwing is pale brownish fuscous and somewhat paler towards the costa and base. The fringe is whitish ocherous, with more or less fuscous shading, and has a dark basal band. The underside of the hindwing is whitish ocherous and more or less shaded with fuscous, especially towards the costa and apex.

Braun (1951) noted that O. appalachiana is very similar to O. hippocastanum, but in the latter the dark basal patch is typically divided longitudinally into two or more fragments. In addition, the underside of the hindwing is mottled with fuscous shading in the costal and apical areas, as opposed to being conspicuously arranged in transverse bars in O. appalachiana. The presence of two brown to blackish spots of the outside of the second palp segment of O. appalachiana may be distinctive for this species since Kearfott (1907) did not mention these in his original description that was based on six reared specimens of O. hippocastanum from the Black Mountains in Buncombe County. Male and female genitalia are not very useful in separating the two species, but the length of the lobes on either side of the ostium may be useful in distinguishing between these species (Braun,1951) and needs further verification.
Wingspan: 21-22 mm (Kearfott, 1907).
Adult Structural Features: Braun (1951) has an illustration of the female genitalia.
Immatures and Development: The larvae feed on Yellow Buckeye and are leaf rollers and tiers. The early-instar larvae cuts the petiole of a leaflet, which causes it to droop and wilt. The larva initially feeds within the folded, young, wilted leaflet, then later cuts the petiole of a second leaflet, which is then folded within a third leaflet to form a more complex feeding shelter. In some cases the entire compound leaf may eventually be used in the feeding process (Braun, 1951). The older larvae have a bluish-green to greenish body and a black head and prothoracic shield.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: The range is rather poorly documented because of the scarcity of records, but O. hippocastanum appears to primarily be found in the southeastern Piedmont and Coastal Plain from North Carolina southward to Florida and westward to Mississippi and eastern Texas. There are also isolated records from the Black Mountains in Buncombe Co. NC and in Letcher Co. in southeastern Kentucky.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Olethreutes hippocastanum
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 typically fly during the spring leaf-out. As of 2024, our records are from mid-May to mid-June.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations are found in mesic woodlands and bottomland forests that support buckeyes.
Larval Host Plants: This species is a specialist on buckeyes (Braun, 1951; Kearfott, 1907), including Yellow Buckeye (Aesculus flava), Red Buckeye (A. pavia), and Painted Buckeye (A. sylvatica). - View
Observation Methods: The adults appear to only rarely visit lights; we recommend searching for the rolled leaves on buckeyes during the spring and rearing and photographing the adults.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR[S2S3]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: Olethreutes hippocastanum appears to be uncommon in North Carolina, but has likely been under collected due to the difficulty of identifying the adults.

 Photo Gallery for Olethreutes hippocastanum - None

Photos: 3

Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 1998-06-20
Jones Co.
Comment: BOLD specimen; USNM.		Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 1998-05-18
Pender Co.
Comment: BOLD specimen; USNM.
Recorded by: W.Haliburton on 1942-05-26
Durham Co.
Comment: BOLD specimen; USNM.