Moths of North Carolina
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4 NC Records

Epiblema dorsisuffusana (Kearfott, 1908) - No Common Name

Epiblema dorsisuffusana
Taxonomy
Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: EucosminiP3 Number: 51a1102 MONA Number: 3206.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Kearfott (1908)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is mostly based on that of Kearfott (1908). Epiblema dorsisuffusana has an overall dark brown to blackish appearance except for the mostly whitish markings. The face is blackish and the head dark chocolate-brown, while the palps are creamy-white on the inside and dark bronzy-brown on the outside. The antenna is blackish-gray and faintly annulated with white, while the thorax is dark grayish-brown with ocherous brown mottling. A conspicuous thoracic tuft is often evident on fresh specimens. The ground color of the forewing has an overall dark-brown or blackish appearance, with the basal third and costal half transversely grizzled with grayish brown, black, and sometimes reddish-brown striations. A prominent whitish dorsal patch is present near the middle of the wing that has two black dots along the inner margin. The patch is widest along the inner margin and irregularly tapers to a blunt end near the middle of the wing. The ocellus is bright white with a broad gray band on the proximal margin and one or two black dashes in the white portion. The area between the ocellus and dorsal patch is connected by a small whitish patch that usually has grayish scales near its center. The costa has four or five pairs of whitish strigulae on the outer half, with the last being the largest. Lines of grayish-metallic and reddish-brown scales are also present that project towards the termen. A reddish-brown spot is often evident at the apex, with the reddish-brown coloration extending along the termen to the ocellus. The fringe has an overall light reddish-brown color on the apical half that transitions into white on the remaining half. The hindwing is light smoky brown, and the fringe is ashy gray.

This species is most easily confused with E. ostiotana, but differs in having an almost black versus a grayish brown forewing ground color, a broader dorsal patch that only projects halfway across the wing, and a whitish patch that connects the dorsal patch to the ocellus (Wright and Gilligan, 2023). In addition, the ocellus of E. dorsisuffusana is bright white with a gray band on the proximal margin versus being grayish with a gray band on each lateral margin in E. ostiotana.
Forewing Length: 6.9-9.0 mm; mean = 8.1 mm (Wright and Gilligan, 2023).
Adult Structural Features: Wright and Gilligan (2023) has descriptions and illustrations of the male and female genitalia.
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: Epiblema dorsisuffusana is found in the eastern U.S. and adjoining areas of southern Ontario and Quebec. In the U.S. it occurs from Maine southward to northern Florida and westward to Louisiana, Arkansas, eastern Oklahoma, Iowa and Wisconsin. As of 2024, we have only a few scattered records from the Blue Ridge and eastern Piedmont.
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 adults have been observed from April through August in different areas of the range, with the peak flight typically in June and July. As of 2024, our scattered records are all from June and July.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: This species is generally found in open habitats such a fields, prairies and roadway corridors.
Larval Host Plants: The hosts are apparently undocumented. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S2S3]
State Protection:
Comments: Epiblema dorsisuffusana is uncommon in the state with only three records as of 2024.

 Photo Gallery for Epiblema dorsisuffusana - No common name

Photos: 1

Recorded by: Ed Corey on 2018-07-18
Ashe Co.
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