Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Tortricidae Members:	Epinotia Members:	5 NC Records

Epinotia lindana (Fernald, 1892) - Diamondback Epinotia

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Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Tortricoidea

Family:
Tortricidae

Subfamily:
Olethreutinae

Tribe:
Eucosmini

P3 Number:
51a1260

MONA Number:
3351.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)

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

Technical Description, Immature Stages: MacKay (1959)

Adult Markings: This is a fairly distinctive Epinotia in which the costal half to two-thirds of the forewing is dark brown and constrast sharply with a light brownish-gray, longitudinal band that extends along the entire inner margin. The band is strongly sinuate, with a broadly incurved section on the basal half and a smaller incurved section in the postmedian portion of the wing. The band is finely speckled with darker scales and has a series of dots along the inner margin.

Forewing Length: 7-10 mm (Powell and Opler, 2009).

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

Immatures and Development: The larvae feed on dogwoods, particularly Alternate-leaved Dogwood. Young larvae that were observed by Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on Alternate-leaved Dogwood in Madison County consumed the terminal buds and tissues at the bases of the stem tips, which caused the whorl of developing leaves to wilt. Each larva then constructed a crude shelter by binding together the wilted leaves. Feeding occurs inside the leaf shelter on the dead or dying leaves and the larvae spend the summer months aestivating in the shelter in cocoons of loosely tied silk (John van der Linden; BugGuide). They eventually pupate within the leaf shelters, with the adults emerging within a few weeks. The adults appear to overwinter and become active again during the spring leaf-out. The later-instars have a dark reddish head and a black prothoracic shield. The body is dull greenish-white to light yellowish-brown with the anal shield similarly colored. The body has a series of raised pinacula on each body segment that are the same color or slightly darker than the ground color of the body. MacKay (1959) provides a detailed description of the larvae. Early-instar larvae that Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin observed has blackish heads, while older larvae had dull reddish heads.

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

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Epinotia lindana is generally associated with cool climates. It occurs in Canada from British Columbia eastward to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In the U.S. it occurs in northern California, Oregon, and Washington, and from North Dakota and Minnesota eastward to the New England states, and southwestward mostly through the Appalachian region to western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, eastern Kentucky and southern Ohio. As of 2024, all of our records are from the Blue Ridge.

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 adults have been found from March through November in different areas of the range, with a seasonal peak typically from August through October. As of 2024, our very limited adult records are from mid-September and late-October.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: In North Carolina, local populations are generally found in forested sites in the mountains with Alternate-leaved Dogwood.

Larval Host Plants: The larvae feed on dogwoods, including species that are restricted to the western U.S. The reported hosts from eastern North America include Alternate-leaf Dogwood (Swida alternifolia [= Cornus alternifolia]), Flowering Dogwood (Benthamidia florida [= Cornus florida] and Gray Dogwood (S. racemosa). As of 2024, we have one record for Alternate-leaf Dogwood. - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights, and the larvae can be found soon after the spring leaf-out in leaf shelters on flagged dogwood stems.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Dogwood Thickets and Understories

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: This species appears to be uncommon in the state where it is near the southern limit of its range in the eastern U.S.

Photo Gallery for Epinotia lindana - Diamondback Epinotia

Photos: 11

	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-06-05 Mitchell Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-06-05 Mitchell Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-06-05 Mitchell Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-05-22 Madison Co. Comment: Stem tips with wilted to dried leaf shelters were on Alternate-leaved Dogwood. Each had a single larva and one on a dried leaf structure was within a thinly veiled cocoon.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-05-22 Madison Co. Comment: Stem tips with wilted to dried leaf shelters were on Alternate-leaved Dogwood. Each had a single larva and one on a dried leaf structure was within a thinly veiled cocoon.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-05-22 Madison Co. Comment: A larva from a dried and blackened leaf shelter that was removed from a thin-walled cocoon (evident in the background).
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-05-20 Madison Co. Comment: A mid-instar larvae that was removed from a leaf shelter on Alternate-leaved Dogwood.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-05-20 Madison Co. Comment: A later-instar larvae that was removed from a leaf shelter on Alternate-leaved Dogwood.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-05-20 Madison Co. Comment: A leaf shelter that was constructed from a whorl of wilted leaves of Alternate-leaved Dogwood. Larvae bored into buds which cause terminal leaves to wilt and die; made a shelter by binding together several leaves.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-05-20 Madison Co. Comment: A prepupal larva; larvae were in wilted shoots of Alternate-leaved dogwood. Larvae bored into buds which cause terminal leaves to wilt and die; made a shelter by binding together several leaves.
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2023-10-30 Graham Co. Comment: