Moths of North Carolina
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39 NC Records

Epinotia transmissana (Walker, 1863) - Walker's Epinotia

Epinotia transmissanaEpinotia transmissanaEpinotia transmissanaEpinotia transmissana
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: EucosminiP3 Number: 51a1222 MONA Number: 3310.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is our most colorful Epinotia species. The head tuft and palps are light brown, while the antenna and thorax are a slightly darker shade of brown. The forewing has a prominent, outwardly-angled, brown patch on the basal third that has darker brown mottling within. It contrasts sharply with an adjoining, triangular to squarish, median white patch that covers the dorsal half of the wing. The area between the white patch and the ocellus has a mosaic of blackish, brownish and silvery-gray scales. The ocellus has two or three black longitudinal lines on an orangish ground color, and is bordered with a vertical band of silvery-gray scales on the anterior and posterior margins. The apical half of the costa has five or more pairs of white strigulae that alternate with brown spots. Orangish-brown lines project from the spots towards the outer margin where they often fuse with a zone of orangish-brown scales along the outer margin. The fringe is light brown with a prominent blackish basal line with paler margins. The hindwing varies from light to medium brown with a relatively faint dark basal line.
Wingspan: 14-17 mm (Heinrich, 1923).
Forewing Length: 7.0-8.5 mm (Gilligan et al., 2008).
Adult Structural Features: Gilligan et al. (2008) have illustrations of the male and female genitalia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae feed on birches and willows, but details of the larval life history are lacking.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Epinotia transmissana is a cool-climate species that occurs in Alaska and throughout most of southern Canada from British Columbia and Alberta eastward to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. The range in the US extends from Minnesota across the Great Lakes region to the New England states, and southward mostly through the Appalachian region to eastern Kentucky, western Virginia, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina. As of 2024, most of our records are from lower to higher-elevations in the Blue Ridge, with two records from 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: The adults have been observed from May through September in different areas of the range, with a peak in seasonal activity from June through August. As of 2024 our records extend from early-June to early-September. Local populations in North Carolina are univoltine, as appears to be the case elsewhere in the range.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations in North Carolina are commonly associated with mesic hardwood forests that support birches.
Larval Host Plants: The hosts are poorly documented, but include birches (Betula) and willlows (Salix; Forbes, 1923; Heinrich, 1923; Prentice, 1966; Miller, 1987; Beadle and Leckie, 2012). As of 2024, we do not have any host records for North Carolina. Sweet Birch (B. lenta) and Yellow Birch (B. alleghaniensis) are the suspected hosts in North Carolina given their prevalence at most collection sites, but this has yet to be verified. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights. Information is needed on host use in North Carolina.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR[S3S4)
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This cool-climate species reaches its southern range limits in the southern Appalachians. It can be locally common where mesic hardwood forests prevail.

 Photo Gallery for Epinotia transmissana - Walker's Epinotia

Photos: 19

Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Bo Sullivan on 2023-08-08
Ashe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2023-08-01
Cabarrus Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-31
Macon Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-30
Swain Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2023-07-30
Swain Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-29
Swain Co.
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Recorded by: David George, Steve Hall, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-22
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-10
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-08
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-07-05
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-07-10
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-27
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-27
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-25
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-25
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Lori Owenby on 2018-07-25
Watauga Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Lori Owenby on 2016-06-29
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: B. Bockhahn, K. Kittelberger, P. Scharf on 2015-06-18
Avery Co.
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Recorded by: B. Bockhahn, K. Kittelberger, P. Scharf on 2015-06-18
Avery Co.
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