Moths of North Carolina
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12 NC Records

Proteoteras crescentana Kearfott, 1907 - Black-crescent Proteoteras

Proteoteras crescentanaProteoteras crescentanaProteoteras crescentana
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Tortricoidea		 Family:
Tortricidae		Subfamily:
Olethreutinae		Tribe:
Eucosmini		P3 Number:
51a1136		 MONA Number:
3233.00		 Other Common Name:
Northern Boxelder Twig Borer
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Immature Stages: Wong et al. (1983)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The head, thorax, palps and ground color of the forewing vary from greenish gray to light or medium brown and are often dusted with black. The most conspicuous mark is a contrasting black band that runs from the middle of the costa inward, then bends rearward and projects towards the apex (Forbes, 1923). This mark is less wavy and much more sharply marked than the band found in Proteoteras aesculana and runs in a more unbroken sweep from the costa to the apex. It typically narrows beyond the bend near the middle of the wing and tends to contrast sharply with lighter brown coloration along the dorsal third of the wing. The costa lacks a dark blotch at around one-fourth that is present in some of our Proteoteras species, and the series of alternating dark and light spots along the costa are generally less prominent. As in other members of this genus, both the thorax and forewing have conspicuous tufts that give them a lumpy appearance. The hindwing is light to medium brown.
Wingspan: 16-19 mm (Heinrich, 1923).
Forewing Length: 7.0-9.0 mm (Gilligan et al., 2008).
Adult Structural Features: Wong et al. (1983) and Gilligan et al. (2008) provide illustrations of the genitalia and female sternite 7.. Males have a small amount of dark costal scaling on the dorsal surface of the hindwing, but none on the ventral surface (Gilligan et al., 2008).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
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 have essentially identical larval life histories (Wong et al., 1983). A detailed account of the larval life history for P. crescentana is not available, but the following account of Peterson's study of P. willingana presumably applies reasonably well to that of P. crescentana.

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 larva drops to the ground, spins a cocoon in the leaf-litter and pupates. The adult typically emerge 2-3 weeks later.

The fully grown larvae are around 13 mm long and are pale white with reddish-brown heads that are darkest around the eyes and mouth. The thoracic shield is yellowish brown (Soloman, 1995).
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Proteoteras crescentana occurs primarily in the eastern US, but can be found in extreme southern Canada from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia to as far west as Alberta. In the US, populations occur from Maine and other New England states westward to eastern North Dakota, and southward though much of the eastern US to Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. It is poorly represented in the Coastal Plain, and the western limit of the range terminates at the interface of the Eastern Deciduous Forest and Great Plains. As of 2022, our records are all from the Piedmont and lower elevations in the Blue Ridge.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Proteoteras crescentana
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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