Moths of North Carolina
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25 NC Records

Retinia virginiana (Busck, 1914) - Wenzel's Pitch-blister Moth


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: EucosminiP3 Number: 620721.00 MONA Number: 2891.00 MONA Synonym: Retinia wenzeli
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1923)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following is based in part on descriptions by Busck (1914) and Forbes (1923). The labial palp, face, and head are light whitish yellow, while the antenna is reddish white with a thin longitudinal black line anteriorly. The thorax is predominantly pale orange, but often shaded with whitish blotching in the front. The forewing ground is light rusty orange and is overlain heavily with thick yellowish-silvery or pearly-white transverse lines. These tend to follow a highly sinuous path from the costa to the dorsal margin and vary in length. Some may fork or anastomize with adjoining lines and they frequently appear as double lines. The median area usually has two lines (often double) in close proximity and running roughly parallel to each other that are highlighted by the rusty orange ground on either side. A second set of lines is often well developed at around three-fourths. The cilia are whitish brown with an orange basal line cut with white. The hindwing is whitish and shaded with pale wood-brown, and the cilia are white. The abdomen is light brown above with each joint edged with white, while the legs are white with wide brownish bands.
Wingspan: 16-22 mm (Forbes, 1923).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae feed internally on the young branches of Virginia Pine and makes large globular pitch-nodules that are formed from a combination of silk, frass, and resin. Miller and Altmann (1958) studied populations in Ohio and Maryland and found that individuals normally require two years to complete their life cycle. The eggs are laid in the spring and hatch in early summer. The young larva first constructs a silken tent at a feeding site on a young shoot then feeds briefly by boring into the bases of needles. It soon shifts to feeding on the bark and cortical tissues and carries resin and frass to the tent to construct a resinous nodule on a shoot. As the larva grows, it enlarges the nodule by excavating the old nodule wall and building new annexes.

After overwintering, the larva abandons the nodule in early spring and constructs a new nodule on an older twig, typically within a 0.5 m of the old nodule and usually at a crotch in the stem. Stems that are 2-5 years old are more likely to be used than current year stems. The larva feeds throughout the year then overwinters again within the nodule. Pupation occurs with the spring warm-up and a month or more later the adults emerge and begin mating and laying eggs. Before pupation, the larva makes a pupal cell of frass and resin within the nodule. The larva constructs an escape hatch at the outer end of the cell by eating away the nodule wall until only a thin, slightly translucent area of the nodule wall remains. Miller and Altmann (1958) noted that the nodules can be found throughout the crown of trees, but are generally on branches that are greater than 1.5 m above the ground.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Retinia virginiana is found in the eastern US from Maryland and southern Pennsylvania to as far west as southern Ohio and western Kentucky. From there the range extends southward through the Appalachian region and Piedmont to North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, and northern Alabama. As of 2022, our records are all from the Piedmont and lower elevations sites 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
Immature 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: Local populations throughout the range are univoltine with the adults emerging during the spring warm-up, typically in April and May. As of 2022, our records extend from mid-April through mid-May.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: This species is restricted to sites with Virginia Pine. This species is typically found at sites with dry, nutrient-poor soils and is a common early successional species in the Piedmont and Blue Ridge where it often grows in dense stands following fires or land clearing operations.
Larval Host Plants: Retinia virginiana is a specialist on Virginia Pine (Pinus virginiana) and its geographic range closely parallels that of its host. Miller and Altmann (1958) noted that other pines that grow in the vicinity of Virginia Pine are never used as hosts. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and the resinous nodules are easy to spot on the host plant.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Dry-Xeric Pine Forests and Woodlands
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: Populations in North Carolina are near the southern limit of the range. The species appears to be locally common but patchily distributed throughout the Piedmont and Blue Ridge.

 Photo Gallery for Retinia virginiana - Wenzel's Pitch-blister Moth

34 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-05-06
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-04-16
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-04-14
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-04-12
Madison Co.
Comment: An occupied resin nodule on Virginia Pine; an adult emerged on April 16, 2023 (see companion photo of the adult).
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-04-12
Madison Co.
Comment: A dissected resin nodule on Virginia Pine with a pupa. 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-04-12
Madison Co.
Comment: A pupa that was removed from a resin nodule on Virginia Pine.
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-11-17
Buncombe Co.
Comment: A dissected nodule with a second-year larva. 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-11-17
Buncombe Co.
Comment: A larva that was dissected from a nodule.
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-11-17
Buncombe Co.
Comment: An intact second-year nodule in the crouch of a branch of a Virginia Pine. 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-11-17
Madison Co.
Comment: A resinous nodule of a second-year larva.
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-11-17
Madison Co.
Comment: A resinous nodule of a second-year larva at the base of a pine cone.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-11-17
Madison Co.
Comment: A resinous nodule of a second-year larva.
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-05-05
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-05-04
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-05-18
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-05-15
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-05-03
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-04-29
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-05-16
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-05-01
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2020-04-24
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2020-04-24
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-04-23
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-04-23
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David L. Heavner on 2019-05-08
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David L. Heavner on 2019-05-08
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-04-23
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-04-21
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-04-21
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-05-02
Madison Co.
Comment: