Moths of North Carolina
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Epiblema Members:
19 NC Records

Epiblema separationis Heinrich, 1923 - No Common Name

Epiblema separationisEpiblema separationisEpiblema separationisEpiblema separationis
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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: EucosminiP3 Number: 51a1104.7 MONA Number: 3177.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Wright and Gilligan (2023).                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is based on that of Wright and Gilligan (2023). This species is one of the smallest of the North American Epiblema with an average forewing length of only 5.1 mm. The head is white and the labial palps are white and lack dark spots as seen on some Epiblema. The whitish antenna has a black mark on the pedicel that is conspicuous in specimens from south Texas, but reduced to absent in individuals from North Carolina. The forewing is white with some grayish tan suffusion and is variably marked with one or more arrays of blackish dots. These include three to five dots at the base of the wing, one relatively large one near the middle of the wing at about one-fourth the wing length, one or two dots on the proximal margin of the ocellus, two in the ocellus, and four to five evenly distributed ones along the inner margin. The ocellus is whitish and often has pale pink tints, while the white costal strigulae are delimited by numerous short blackish dashes. The termen has a narrow salt-and-pepper colored band from the tornus to the apex. The hindwing is grayish brown with a lighter fringe.
Forewing Length: 3.7-6.5 mm; mean = 5.1 mm (Wright and Gilligan, 2023).
Adult Structural Features: Wright and Gilligan (2023) provide descriptions and illustrations of the male and female genitalia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Museum records indicate that the larvae feed within the stems of Sea Oxeye (Borrichia frutescens) where they form galls (MacKay, 1959; Wright and Gilligan, 2023). MacKay (1959) examined a single larva from southern Texas that was 5 mm long. The head and thoracic shield were brown and the body was pale with moderately large pinacula of similar color. Other than the known use of Sea Oxeye, the larval life history is undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Epiblema separationis is spottily distributed across southeastern coastal regions in what appears to be a series of isolated populations that are known from southern and eastern Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, southern Florida and coastal North Carolina (Wright and Gilligan, 2023). As of 2024, all of our records are from coastal habitats in the southern half of the state.
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: Wright and Gilligan (2023) noted that in Texas there appear to be two primary adult flights, with one from late March to mid-June, and the second from mid-September to late-December. As of 2024, our records extend from mid-May to early-September, with the exception of one early season record from early-March.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Our records are all from maritime communities and often in close proximity to brackish or saltwater habitats.
Larval Host Plants: Sea Oxeye (Borrichia frutescens; Asteraceae) appears to be a host based on museum specimens that Wright and Gilligan (2023) and MacKay (1959) found from south Texas and south Florida. These had label inscriptions, "ex. Borrichia frutescens" or "reared from Borrichia frutescens gall." In North Carolina, Sea Oxeye commonly grows along the drier edges of salt and brackish marshes. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights, but perhaps only weakly so given the dearth of records from throughout the range of the species.
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: Epiblema separationis is rare within the state where it appears as a northern disjunct from the nearest known populations in Florida. Almost all of our records are from Fort Macon State Park in Carteret County, where it appears to be locally common.

 Photo Gallery for Epiblema separationis - No common name

Photos: 8

Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-05-22
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-08-13
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-06-25
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-05-18
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-06-05
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Newman, Randy on 2007-08-04
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Newman, Randy on 2007-05-12
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 1997-08-03
Carteret Co.
Comment: