Moths of North Carolina
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Pelochrista Members:
2 NC Records

Pelochrista fratruelis (Heinrich, 1923) - No Common Name


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: EucosminiP3 Number: 620941.00 MONA Number: 3152.00
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.
Species Status: Heinrich (1923) described this species from 14 specimens that were collected from Southern Pines, North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Heinrich (1923); Wright and Gilligan (2017)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The head, palps, and antennae are grayish to grayish brown. The thorax and a large basal patch on the forewing are concolorous and are comprised of fine grayish and fuscous striations or vermiculations. The basal patch extends to about one-third the wing length and covers the entire area between the dorsal margin and costa. The remainder of the forewing has an orange ground color that is overlain with a prominent ocelloid region, along with three dull silver bands. These include a straight and rather narrow band at the middle that extends from the dorsal margin to the costa, a shorter band just beyond the middle that extends from the costa to near the middle of the wing, and a slightly curved band at about four-fifths that extends obliquely from the costa to the middle of the termen. The ocellus consists of black spots on a creamy white to tan field that are grouped to form two or three large patches, and often has a few metallic-gray spots embedded within the black patches. The ocellus is surrounding by a field of fuscous to blackish dusting and striations that occupies a large portion of the outer half of the wing. A scattering of metallic-gray spots can be found near the perimeter of the field of dark dusting and striations. The termen and cilia have a salt-and-pepper patterning, while the hindwing is dark brown with paler cilia. Pelochrista fraudabilis resembles Pelochrista fratruelis but is straw-colored, has two complete fascias (crossbands) on the forewing, and lacks the basal patch.
Wingspan: 12-14 mm (Heinrich, 1923)
Forewing Length: 5.0-6.6 mm; mean 5.9 mm (Wright and Gilligan, 2017)
Adult Structural Features: Wright and Gilligan (2017) have illustrations and descriptions of the male and female genitalia as follows. In males, the uncus is weakly differentiated from the dorsolateral shoulders of the tegumen, the phallus base is closely surrounded by the anellus, and the vesica has two cornuti. The valva has a concave costal margin, a moderate ventral emargination, a short neck, and an angulate saccular corner. The cucullus has a moderately developed dorsal lobe with the apex broadly rounded, a convex distal margin of nearly uniform curvature, a small ventral lobe bearing a stout anal spine, and a basoventral margin that extends in a ridgelike manner onto the medial surface of the neck.

In females, the papillae anales are flat, the sterigma is Type II, the lamella postvaginalis tapers somewhat posteriorly (width of the posterior margin about equal to the ostium diameter), the ductus bursae lacks sclerotization, and the corpus bursae has a moderately large signum on the ventral surface and a much smaller signum on the dorsal surface that is located on a broad sclerotized ridge near the juncture with the ductus bursae. The authors note that females of P. fratruelis are easily distinguished from those of P. fraudabilis by the papillae anales and by the presence versus absence of a sclerotized ridge associated with the smaller signum.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The life history of the larval stages is undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Scatter populations of P. fratruelis have been found in Coastal Plain habitats from North Carolina to Florida and westward to Louisiana. Wright and Gilligan (2017) examined specimens from North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Our only records for North Carolina as of 2022 are from Southern Pines in Moore County where specimens were collected over 100 years ago, and a more recent find (2014) by Parker Backstrom in Chatham County.
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: The few scattered site records for this species extend from early July through early October. The type series that contained 14 specimens from Southern Pines was collected between July 8 and September 15 (Heinrick, 1923).
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: The preferred habitats are poorly delineated, but most records are from sandy sites with xeric communities.
Larval Host Plants: The host plants are unknown. - View
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S1S2
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 rare within the state and uncommon to rare elsewhere within its range.

 Photo Gallery for Pelochrista fratruelis - No common name

Photos: 2

Recorded by: Parker Backstrom on 2014-09-01
Chatham Co.
Comment: FW length at rest was 8 mm.		Recorded by: Parker Backstrom on 2014-09-01
Chatham Co.
Comment: FW length at rest was 8 mm.