Moths of North Carolina
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1 NC Records

Proteoteras obnigrana Heinrich, 1923 - No Common Name

Proteoteras obnigrana
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: EucosminiP3 Number: 51a1140 MONA Number: 3237.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1923); Gilligan et al. (2008)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This species is somewhat distinctive in that the head, thorax, palps and ground color of the forewing tend to be dull white or sordid white with various degrees of blackish to dark-gray dusting or fine blotching. The most prominent feature is a dark grayish to blackish band with irregular margins that curves inward from the middle of the costa and extends rearward to a point that is just dorsal to the tornus. In most specimens it connects to a large, concolorous blotch along the dorsal margin near the tornus. This species generally lacks a well-formed crescent shaped band that extends from the middle of the costa to the apex since there is usually a gap between the costal band and a smaller dark blotch in the subapical region. The costa often has a dark blotch at around one-fourth, along with an opposing, irregular blotch on the dorsal margin that is expressed to varying degrees. A series of alternating dark and light streaks occur along most of the costa, and both the thorax and forewing have conspicuous tufts that give them a lumpy appearance. The hindwing varies from medium gray or grayish-brown to blackish-fuscous in the males, with the latter having extensive sex scaling (see structural features below).

Proteoteras obnigrana most closely resembles P. aesculana and is best distinguished from this and our other Proteoteras species by the sordid white or dull white ground color of the forewing (Forbes, 1923; Heinrich, 1923), and the lack of a well-developed crescent-shaped mark on the forewing. The ground color of our other species is either gray, olivaceous or bright green.
Forewing Length: 6.5-8.0 mm (Gilligan et al., 2008).
Adult Structural Features: Heinrich (1923) and Gilligan et al. (2008) provide illustrations of the genitalia. Males have extensive black sex scaling on both surfaces of the hindwing and on the ventral surface of the forewing, but none adjacent to the hair pencil on the dorsal surface of the hindwing (Gilligan et al., 2008).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: As currently recognized, this species occurs in both eastern and western North America, but the western forms likely represent a cryptic species (BOLD). In the east, specimens have been collected from Minnesota eastward through the northern tier of states to Maine, as well as in southern Ontario and Quebec. The range extends southward to Kentucky, Illinois, and eastern Tennessee (Gilligan et al., 2008). As of 2024, we have a single genitalia-based record from Cabarrus County 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: Proteoteras obnigrana is univoltine and has a relatively short flight season. Adults have been observed form May-July, but almost all are from June and July. As of 2024, our one verified record was from 9 March.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
Larval Host Plants: - View
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
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 Photo Gallery for Proteoteras obnigrana - No common name

Photos: 1

Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2016-03-09
Cabarrus Co.
Comment: Confirmed by dissection by J.B. Sullivan.