Moths of North Carolina
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4 NC Records

Proteoteras willingana (Kearfott, 1904) - Eastern Boxelder Twig Borer Moth

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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: EucosminiP3 Number: 621135.00 MONA Number: 3232.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is a rather non-descript species of Proteoteras. The head, thorax, palps, antenna and ground color of the forewing are more or less concolorous and vary from very light tan or pale brownish-fuscous. The forewing ground is overlaid with irregular groupings of blackish brown scales that can appear as small spots or very short, irregular lines. The head is rough-scaly and the thorax is smooth. The hindwing is pale smoky gray to fuscous.
Wingspan: 15-25 mm (Soloman, 1995)
Adult Structural Features: Wong et al. (1983) provide illustrations of the male genitalia and female sternite 7. Males have black scaling along the costa on both surfaces of the hindwing and along the costa on the ventral surface (Gilligan et al., 2008).
Immatures and Development: Peterson (1958) conducted a detailed study of the larval life history of Proteoteras willingana in Saskatchewan. Later studies indicate that Peterson's study may have possibly involved two closely related species (P. willingana; P. crescentana) that both use Box-elder and appear to have identical larval life histories, although this has not been proven definitively (Wong et al., 1983). The following account of Peterson's study presumably applies to both species well.

The females lay their eggs singly on the undersides of Box-elder leaves following the spring leaf-out and the hatchlings appear in July. The first three instars construct a silk shelter on the leaf surface that is usually near the midvein or a lateral vein then skeletonize the tissues within or adjoining the shelter. At the end of the third instar in late-July or early August, the larva leaves its shelter and bores into the base of the leaf petiole or between the petiole and the stem and enters a leaf bud where it hollows out a hibernation chamber. The hibernation chamber occasionally extends partly or entirely into the stem next to the bud and the larva molts to the fourth instar inside it. The winter is passed in a silken cocoon spun inside the hibernation chamber.

During the spring warm-up, the larva leaves the hibernation cell and burrows into and feeds on a healthy bud on the same stem where it forms another chamber. After a few days the larva vacates the bud and bores into the current tip growth of a twig. During this period it feeds and burrows extensively to produce a much larger chamber that may exceed 2.5 cm in length and swell to produce a spindle-shaped gall-like structure. In late May and June, the mature larvae drop to the ground, spin a cocoon in the leaf-litter and pupates. The adult typically emerge 2-3 weeks later.

Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Proteoteras willingana has a broad range that includes much of the eastern two-thirds of southern Canada. In the US the range extends from the New England states westward through the Great Lakes region to Minnesota and eastern Nebraska, and southward to North Carolina, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. As of 2022, we have only a few scattered records from the Piedmont and lower elevations in the 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: Local populations are univoltine throughout the range. The adults have been observed from February-August, but the great majority fly from May through July. As of 2022, our limited records are from mid-May through mid-July.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: This species is strongly dependent on Box-elder (Acer negundo) as a host and local populations are typically found in bottomland forests, streamside habitats, and in mesic hardwoods, particularly where roads or other openings provide partially shaded microhabitats. As of 2022, three of our records come from bottomlands and one from a stand of mesic hardwoods on a ridgetop.
Larval Host Plants: The larvae appear to be monophagous on Box-elder (Forbes, 1923; Heinrich, 1923; Peterson, 1958; Wong et al., 1983; Miller, 1987; Godfrey et al., 1987;Brown et al., 2008; Lam et al., 2011). There is one questionable report of them using a Red Maple (A. rubrum; Grehan et al., 1995). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Rich Wet Hardwood Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S2S4
State Protection:
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 Photo Gallery for Proteoteras willingana - Eastern Boxelder Twig Borer Moth

Photos: 1

Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2016-05-25
Cabarrus Co.
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