Moths of North Carolina
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Dichrorampha Members:
3 NC Records

Dichrorampha simulana (Clemens, 1860) - No Common Name

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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: GrapholitiniP3 Number: 51a1291.7 MONA Number: 3404.00
Comments: Dichrorampha simulana has a very broad distribution across North America may represent a species complex. BOLD has seven BINS, with most located in western North America.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Clemens (1860)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: In this species the head, palps, antennae, thorax, and ground color of the forewing are grayish-brown to brown. The most conspicuous mark on the forewing is a large, orangish to whitish patch on the middle of the dorsal margin. The patch is outwardly oblique and weakly curved, and terminates near the middle of the wing. Some individuals may have the patch missing or less developed than as described above. An yellowish-brown ocellus with three short horizontal dashes is present immediately beyond the end of the patch, and four terminal dots are present near the middle of the termen. The apical third of the costa often has two or three posteriorly oblique striae that vary from orangish-black to shiny gray, along with whitish strigulae that are variably developed. The fringe is brown with a lighter whitish central band. The hindwing is grayish brown with the fringe pattern similar to that of the forewing. Dichrorampha simulana is variable in terms of the development of the dorsal patch and wing patterning and some specimens can closely resemble specimens of D. bittana. This species is best identified using the genitalia, which are distinctive (Miller, 1987; Gilligan et al., 2008).
Forewing Length: 5.5 to 7.0 mm (Miller, 1987)
Adult Structural Features: Miller (1987) and Gilligan et al. (2008) have illustrations of the male and female genitalia and note that the males lack the preapical spur on the aedeagus -- as well as the tongue-like projection on the basal excavation of the valva -- that are characteristic of D. bittana.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable only by close inspection of structural features or by DNA analysis.
Immatures and Development: The larvae are suspected of being stem and root borers, but the larval life history remains undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: As currently recognized, this species is distributed across a wide area of North America that includes central California, the Pacific Northwest and adjoinig areas of western Canada, the central Rockies, and eastern North America from Nova Scotia southward to North Carolina and westward to eastern Tennessee, Kentucky, and Illinois. As of 2022, we currently have only two site records, with both from the northern 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)

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Flight Comments: The adults have been observed from May through September in different areas of the range. As of 2022, our two records are both from June.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: The preferred habitats are poorly documented, but semi-wooded or open habitats seem to be preferred.
Larval Host Plants: The hosts are poorly documented; McDunnough (1946) lists Short's Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum). - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
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 limit in the southern Appalachians. We currently have only two site records from a single county, which suggests that it is rare within the state.