Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« Home »
View PDFTortricidae Members: Phiaris Members: 5 NC Records

Phiaris glaciana (Möschler, 1860) - No Common Name

No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Tortricoidea		 Family:
Tortricidae		Subfamily:
Olethreutinae		Tribe:
Olethreutini		P3 Number:
51a0626.2		 MONA Number:
2847.00		 MONA Synonym:
Olethreutes glaciana
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Phiaris glaciana has a predominantly blackish forewing with two white bands. A blackish patch is present on the basal one-fourth of the wing that is complete and abuts a white antemedial fascia that usually has a few black specks within it. The fascia has irregular borders on both sides, and adjoins a broad blackish medial band that broadens towards the inner margin. The blackish band has an irregular posterior margin and adjoins a second, irregular, white fascia that extends from the tornus to the costa, where is often bends apically and fuses with whitish, paired striae that occur along the apical fourth of the costa. The subterminal area beyond the second fascia is variably marked with blackish scales that form darker patches or bands that are concolorous with the other dark areas of the wing. The posterior two-thirds of the costa is blackish with paired white striae, including a pair that is often evident in the central dark band. The fringe is mostly dark with a narrow, dark, basal line and with a few whitish streaks or patches on the outer two-thirds. The hindwing varies from medium to dark brown and the fringe is mostly white with a narrow, dark, basal line. The palps, head and thorax are blackish and concolorous with the dark regions on the forewing.

Olethreutes bipartitana is very similar to Phiaris glaciana and some specimens may require dissection for a positive identification. The latter lacks the black spot along the hind margin of the black band and usually has a pair of white costal striae within the black band. Olethreutes bipartitana often has more whitish coloration on the terminal portion of the wing (Gilligan et al., 2008), but there is substantial variation in both species.
Wingspan: 12-19.5 mm (Heinrich, 1926)
Forewing Length: 5.0-8.0 mm (Gilligan et al., 2008).
Adult Structural Features: Gilligan et al. (2008) has illustrations of the male and female genitalia and note that the large digitus in P. glaciana has a setose medial surface and a large tuft of setae at the apex, while O. bipartitana lacks a digitus.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable only by close inspection of structural features or by DNA analysis.
Immatures and Development: The larvae are polyphagous and mostly feed on deciduous trees. Prentice (1966) characterized them as being solitary leaf rollers, but details of the life history are undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Phiaris glaciana is found throughout much of North America where cool climates prevail, including Alaska and Canada from the Yukon southward to British Columbia and Alberta, and eastward to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In the eastern US scattered populations have been found in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and western North Carolina. Populations have been found in the West in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, Washington and Idaho. As of 2024, we have only four site records from Ashe and Mitchell County.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Phiaris glacianaAlamance 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%20Hanover 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 have been observed from June through September in different areas of the range, with a seasonal peak commonly in June and July. As of 2024, our records range from early-June through mid-July.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: This species is found in a variety of habitats, including hardwood forests, boreal forests, bogs, meadows, forest edges and forest gaps.
Larval Host Plants: The larvae are polyphagous and feed primarily on deciduous hardwoods (Prentice, 1965; Brown et al., 2008; Robinson et al., 2010; Beadle and Leckie, 2012). The reported hosts include Silver Maple (Acer saccharinum), Sugar Maple (A. saccharum), birches (Betula), Sweet-fern (Comptonia peregrina), Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera), Lombardy Poplar (P. nigra), Quaking Aspen (P. tremuloides), Choke Cherry (Prunus virginiana), wintergreens (Pyrola), rhododendrons (Rhododendron), willows (Salix), and blueberries (Vaccinium). - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR[S1S3]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: Phiaris glaciana reaches its southern range limit in western North Carolina and appears to be rare within the state. More information is needed on its distribution and abundance before we can accurately assess its conservation status.