Moths of North Carolina
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Rhopobota Members:
63 NC Records

Rhopobota finitimana (Heinrich, 1923) - No Common Name


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: EucosminiP3 Number: 621190.00 MONA Number: 3278.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Gilligan et al. (2008)                                                                                  
Adult Markings: Rhopobota finitimana is similar in maculation to R. dietziana (see the detailed description under that species), except that is has a completely brown head and scape, and the basal and sub-basal fasciae are typically replaced or masked by a solid dark brown basal patch. Rhopobota finitimana also resembles Larisa subsolana, but does not have a complete median fascia and has a well-developed eyespot at the apex that is lacking in Larisa.
Forewing Length: 4.5-5.0 mm (Gilligan et al. (2008).
Adult Structural Features: Gilligan et al. (2008) provide illustrations of the male and female genitalia and note that the male cucullus is semitriangular, with an unusually long spine located on the medial surface just below the rounded apex. In addition, the lateral projections of the uncus are long, flattened, and of uniform width.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae mine the leaves of several species of holly and the mine characteristics vary depending on the host plant. Eiseman (2022) noted that when feeding on American Holly the mines tend to be long and narrow versus more compact when mining deciduous hollies. The silk-bound frass is extruded from a hole in the lower epidermis and usually at the leaf midrib. On deciduous hosts the frass bundle becomes a narrow, curved tube. The mines are frequently digitate or branching due to a feeding larva pausing to dispose of frass, then returning to a different location in the mine to resume feeding. The older larvae abandon their mines and feed in leaf shelters that are constructed by either crumpling one leaf or tying two leaves together. A pupal case is sometimes made by cutting one or two small arcs in a leaf to form a flap in which the larva spins its cocoon Eiseman, 2022).

Ken Kneidel recently reared two adults from mines on American Holly. When using this species the larvae live in linear mines that begin at the midrib and develop numerous lateral branches that make them strongly digitate. Frass is expelled at an opening near the midrib. Larvae that were maintained in captivity eventually evacuated the mines and pupated within a silk covering that was constructed in folds of leaves, on paper tissue, or on a plastic bag. The adults emerged in less than two weeks after pupating when kept at room temperature. Populations that use American Holly probably also use a portion of a folded leaf to pupate, but field observations are needed to confirm this.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Rhopobota finitimana is found in eastern North America, with the range including portions of southern Canada (Ontario eastward to Prince Edward Island) and much of the eastern US from Maine southward to northern Florida and westward to eastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma, Kentucky, and Indiana. It occurs statewide in North Carolina, from lower elevation sites in the Blue Ridge to coastal maritime forests in the east.
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)

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