Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« Home »
View PDFTortricidae Members: Epinotia Members: 2 NC Records

Epinotia rectiplicana (Walsingham, 1879) - No Common Name

Epinotia rectiplicanaEpinotia rectiplicanaEpinotia rectiplicana
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Tortricoidea		 Family:
Tortricidae		Subfamily:
Olethreutinae		Tribe:
Eucosmini		P3 Number:
51a1214		 MONA Number:
3302.00
Species Status: As currently recognized, Epinotia rectiplicana is broadly distributed across both eastern and western North America and likely represents an unresolved species complex. BOLD recognizes four BINS that reflect different evolutionary lineages within the group.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1923).                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is one of our most colorful and easily recognizable Epinotia species. The head tuft, thorax and ground color of the forewing are white, while the antenna is annulated with whitish and dark brown banding. The white ground of the forewing is overlain with complex patterning that includes scattered, dark-gray to grayish-brown specks, larger dark-brown to blackish spots and blotches, and orangish scaling associated with the costal striations and outer margin. A prominent, diffuse, blackish blotch is usually evident between the ocellus and the costa that is preceded by an orangish blotch. A similar but smaller blackish blotch occurs below the inner margin at around two-fifths the wing length from the base that is often accompanied by two or three blackish spots or striae. The apical half of the costa has four or five pairs of white strigulae that alternate with brownish-orange spots. Orangish lines project from these and towards the outer margin where they often fuse with a zone of orangish scales along the outer margin. The ocellus has a few blackish, longitudinal streaks on an orangish ground color, and groups of silvery scales surround most of the ocellus. The fringe is silvery-gray with a prominent blackish basal line, and the hindwing varies from light brown to brownish-gray.
Wingspan: 13 mm (Forbes, 1923).
Adult Structural Features: Heinrich (1923) has an illustration of the male genitalia.
Genitalia and other structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Prentice (1966) noted that the larvae are solitary leaf rollers that feed on alders, birches and willows in Canada, but details of the larval life history have not been reported.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: As currently recognized, Epinotia rectiplicana is broadly distributed across both eastern and western North America and likely represents an unresolved species complex. This species occurs in California, and from Alaska and Northwest Territories southward to British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. From there the range extends eastward across southern Canada to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Specimens have been observed in the eastern US from Maine and other New England states southeastward through New York and Pennsylvania to western North Carolina. As of 2024, we only have two records, and both are from two higher elevations sites in the Blue Ridge.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Epinotia rectiplicanaAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Flight Comments: Specimens have been documented from May through October in different areas of the range, with adults in the US mostly flying in May and June. As of 2024, our two records are from late-May and early-June.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: This species is found in cool climates and is likely restricted to higher-elevation sites in North Carolina. As of 2024, our two records are from a northern hardwood forest and a Spruce-fir forest (Clingman's Dome).
Larval Host Plants: The larvae feed on several genera of hardwoods (Prentice, 1966; Mayer and Beirne, 1974; Ferguson, 1975). The reported hosts are Gray Alder (Alnus incana), Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera), Apple (Malus pumila), Fire Cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) and willows (Salix spp.). As of 2024, we do not have any host records for North Carolina. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights. Information is needed on the larval hosts, particularly for the eastern US.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Rosaceous Thickets
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR[S1S3]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species appears to reach its southern range limit in the southern Appalachians where it is restricted to higher-elevation forests. More information is needed on its host plants, habitat preferences, distribution and abundance before we can accurately assess the conservation status of this species within the state.

 Photo Gallery for Epinotia rectiplicana - None

Photos: 3
Epinotia rectiplicana
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-05-21
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Epinotia rectiplicana
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-05-21
Madison Co.
Comment:
Epinotia rectiplicana
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-05-21
Madison Co.
Comment: