Moths of North Carolina
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Pelochrista Members:
5 NC Records

Pelochrista adamantana (Guenée, 1845) - No Common Name

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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: EucosminiP3 Number: 51a0918.1 MONA Number: 3021.00 MONA Synonym: Eucosma adamantana
Comments: Pelochrista is a large Holarctic genus of tortricids with around 75% of the 226 described species being native to North America (Wright and Gilligan, 2017). The highest species richness occurs in the western half of North America. The genus has a long and confusing taxonomic history, with many of the species formerly placed in the genus Eucosma. Gilligan et al. (2014) conducted a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Pelochrista, Eucosma, and related genera and redefined the genus Eucosma and Pelochrista based on differences in female genitalia. The great majority of Pelochrista species are known only from adults, which likely reflects the fact that the larvae of most species bore into stem bases and roots and are concealed from view. Members of the Asteraceae are the likely hosts for most species (Wright and Gilligan, 2017), but much work need to be done to identifying the hosts.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Wright and Gilligan (2017)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is a medium-sized Pelochrista with a distinctive patterning. The head, palps, antennae, thorax, and legs are a rich reddish-brown and are concolorous with an X-shaped mark on the forewing. The forewing is divided into four white patches by a reddish-brown X-shaped mark. The mark is comprised of a transverse band from the mid-costa to the tornus, along with a second band that extends from the inner margin at the base to the mid-wing, then diagonally from there to the apex (Wright and Gilligan, 2017). A thin line of reddish-brown is usually present along the termen and as a short streak along the costa at the wing base. The hindwing is light brown with a paler fringe.
Wingspan: 15-20 mm (Heinrich, 1923)
Forewing Length: 7.7-10.5 mm; mean 9.3 mm (Wright and Gilligan, 2017)
Adult Structural Features: Wright and Gilligan (2017) provide detailed illustrations of the male and female genitalia and Heinrich (1923) has an illustration of the male genitalia from a specimen from Tryon, North Carolina. The following descriptions are from Wright and Gilligan's (2017) monograph on North American Pelochrista. In males, the vesica lacks cornuti and the uncus is broad, with a shallow medial indentation in the distal margin. The valva has a concave costal margin, a moderately shallow ventral emargination, a long neck, and an angulate saccular corner. The cucullus has a well-developed dorsal lobe, a nearly undeveloped ventral lobe, an anal angle of approximately 90°, and a few marginal spines (including an anal spine) on the ventral one-half of the distal margin.

In females, the posterior lobes of the papillae anales are small, the ventral opening is about three-fourths as long as the pads, and the ventral extensions are corresponding long but weakly developed (length about 8 times the depth). The margins of the ventral opening have hook-tipped setae, the sterigma is Type III, the lamella postvaginalis is rectangular (with the width slightly larger than the length), and sternum 7 is somewhat ovate and uniformly scaled. The ductus bursae lacks sclerotization and the corpus bursae has two signa of unequal size.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larval life history is undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Pelochrista adamantana is restricted to the eastern US, with the range extending from New Jersey southward along the Atlantic Coast states to central Florida and southeastern Alabama.
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
Flight Comments: Local populations appear to be univoltine, with the adults flying from late-August through December. As of 2022, our very limited records are all from early October.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: This species appears to prefer dry, sandy habitats. All but one of our records are from habitats in the Sandhills in communities with well-developed herbaceous ground cover.
Larval Host Plants: The hosts are undocumented. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S2-S3]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species appears to be uncommon to rare throughout its range, as appears to be the case for North Carolina.