Moths of North Carolina

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Zeiraphera claypoleana (Riley, 1882) - Buckeye Petiole Borer Moth

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Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Tortricoidea

Family:
Tortricidae

Subfamily:
Olethreutinae

Tribe:
Eucosmini

P3 Number:
51a1141

MONA Number:
3238.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Forbes, 1923.

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Lintner, 1897.

Adult Markings: The following description is from Forbes (1923). The forewing is pale brownish gray and shaded heavily with sage green. The inner half towards the base is green and has a well-defined outer boundary that is crossed by a black dash which fades out at the base. A black bar is present at the base of the inner margin. A green shade occurs from the tip of the basal area to below the apex, and is crossed by one from the middle of the costa almost to the anal angle. Both are irregular and diffuse, and shaded with blackish where they meet. The blackish area extends outwardly almost to the outer margin. The hindwing is mouse gray with a pale fringe. The adult patterning is variable and can include varying mixtures of whitish, black, and greenish coloration. One color morph has a broad black zone that extends along the inner margin from the wing base to about two-thirds. Many of our records are based on larvae that feed in buckeye petioles and cause leaf wilting. Proteoteras aesculana also feeds on buckeyes and can cause leaf wilting, so care should be taken to carefully inspect the position of bore holes in order to not confuse the two.

Wingspan: 12-16 mm (Solomon, 1995)

Forewing Length: 6.0-8.5 mm (Gilligan et al., 2008)

Adult Structural Features: The male genitalia have not been described in detail, but are pictured in Gilligan et al. (2008). Also, see several examples from North Carolina that are below. The sex-scaling is present on the parts of the forewing and hindwing which overlap, but it is concolorous and hardly visible (Forbes, 1923).

Structural photos

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: The larva creates an entrance hole in the petiole of a buckeye or maple and bores along its length. This occurs during or shortly after the leaf is fully expanded and causes the leaf to wilt. The yellowish-brown frass is initially deposited inside the petiole, but later instars characteristically deposit frass outside the entrance hole in the petiole. The larva eventually leaves the petiole and feeds externally on the withered leaflets, or rarely on the buckeye flowers (Litner, 1897). The withered leaflets and larva eventually fall to the ground where pupation occurs either within the rolled leaflets or on the ground proper (Litner, 1897; Gilligan et al., 2008). The adults that Eiseman (2019) reared on buckeye completed their development within the petioles. The adults emerge within several weeks after pupating. When feeding on maples, the leaf blade and part of the petiole drop to the ground, while the larva continues to feed in the portion that remains attached to the twig (Eiseman, 2019). The head and prothoracic shield of the larvae are amber-colored, while the abdomen varies from light brownish-yellow to dull white.

Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Zeiraphera claypoleana occurs in the eastern US, and is most abundant in an area that extends from Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia southward to eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. Scattered populations have been reported from Iowa, Missouri, Texas, and northern Florida (MPG; BugGuide; Solomon 1995). As of 2023 our North Carolina records are from lower to middle elevation sites in the mountains where it feeds on Yellow Buckeye, and from the Piedmont (recently discovered in 2023) where it feeds on Painted Buckeye.

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
Immature 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 flight season extends from March-August, depending on the latitude and elevation. Wilted leaves are evident in March, April and May in North Carolina, and the adults likely emerge 1-2 months later. As of 2023 we have one adult record from July.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Yellow Buckeye appears to be the primary host of this species in the Blue Ridge and is one of the most characteristic plants of Rich Cove Forests. Although it grows as high as 6,000' in Northern Hardwood Forest, the larvae as of 2023 have been found almost entirely at lower elevations in the mountains. Painted Buckeye appears to be the primary host in the Piedmont.

Larval Host Plants: The larvae appear to feed on Ohio Buckeye (Aesculus glabra) throughout much of their range, and also use Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum) in some areas (Litner, 1897; Robinson et al., 2010). There is a BugGuide record (George Smiley, 2020) of a local population using Red Buckeye (Aesculus pavia) in Texas. This species has been observed using Yellow Buckeye (A. flava) at several sites in western North Carolina, as well as a planted Painted Buckeye (Aesculus sylvatica) in a native plant garden. Ohio Buckeye does not occur in North Carolina, so Yellow Buckeye is presumed to be the primary host in the Blue Ridge. This species was found recently in the Piedmont where it uses Painted Buckeye. Red Buckeye could also be a host in the Coastal Plain, but this has yet to be documented. - View

Observation Methods: The adults only occasionally come to lights, and many adult records are based on individuals that were reared from buckeyes. Populations are easy to document by searching for the wilted leaves of buckeyes during April and May. The larvae can be found by splitting the petioles along their length. The adults can be reared by collecting freshly withered leaves that hold the larvae and pupae. Proteoteras aesculana is a closely related species that bores in the shoots of buckeyes and maples and causes leaf wilt. This species typically kills the entire shoot rather than single leaves as seen in Z. claypoleana.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for Rich Wet-Mesic Hardwood Forests

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S2S4

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments: We currently do not have sufficient information on the distribution and abundance of this species to accurately assess its conservation status.

Photo Gallery for Zeiraphera claypoleana - Buckeye Petiole Borer Moth

37 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: David George, Steve Hall on 2025-03-15 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-05-08 Orange Co. Comment: Reared from a larva collected April 1, 2024 on a withered leaflet of Painted Buckeye, Aesculus sylvatica. The adult eclosed on May 8.
	Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-05-08 Orange Co. Comment: Reared from a larva collected April 1, 2024 on a withered leaflet of Painted Buckeye, Aesculus sylvatica. The adult eclosed on May 8.		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-05-08 Orange Co. Comment: Reared from a larva collected April 1, 2024 on a withered leaflet of Painted Buckeye, Aesculus sylvatica. The adult eclosed on May 8.
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-04-07 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-04-07 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-04-07 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-04-01 Orange Co. Comment: A larva collected April 1, 2024 on a withered leaflet of Painted Buckeye, Aesculus sylvatica. The adult eclosed on May 8 (see companion photo).
	Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-04-01 Orange Co. Comment: A pupa from a larva collected April 1, 2024 on a withered leaflet of Painted Buckeye, Aesculus sylvatica. The adult eclosed on May 8 (see companion photo).		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-04-01 Orange Co. Comment: A pupa from a larva collected April 1, 2024 on a withered leaflet of Painted Buckeye, Aesculus sylvatica. The adult eclosed on May 8 (see companion photo).
	Recorded by: David George on 2024-03-24 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2024-03-20 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2024-03-20 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-04-29 Mitchell Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-04-29 Mitchell Co. Comment: An exposed larva with frass.		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2023-03-22 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Hall on 2023-03-22 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Hall on 2023-03-22 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George on 2023-03-21 Orange Co. Comment: On Aesculus sylvatica.		Recorded by: David George on 2023-03-21 Orange Co. Comment: On Aesculus sylvatica.
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-03-20 Wake Co. Comment: On Aesculus sylvatica.		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-03-20 Wake Co. Comment: On Aesculus sylvatica.
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-03-20 Wake Co. Comment: On Aesculus sylvatica.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-05-18 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-05-18 Buncombe Co. Comment: A bore hole on the petiole.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-05-01 Madison Co. Comment: Wilted leaves of Yellow Buckeye. These were abundant at this site.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-05-01 Madison Co. Comment: View of a bore hole on a Yellow buckeye petiole with frass being expelled.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-05-01 Madison Co. Comment: Wilted leaves of Yellow Buckeye.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-05-16 Buncombe Co. Comment: Wilted leaves with holes in petioles were common on Yellow Buckeye. Larva was removed from dried leaflets and photographed.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-05-16 Buncombe Co. Comment: Wilted leaves with holes in petioles were common on Yellow Buckeye. This larva was removed from a mass of dried leaflets and photographed.