Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Tortricidae Members:	Acleris Members:	49 NC Records

Acleris cervinana (Fernald, 1882) - No Common Name

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Tortricoidea

Family:
Tortricidae

Subfamily:
Tortricinae

Tribe:
Tortricini

P3 Number:
51a0013

MONA Number:
3514.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

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

Adult Markings: Acleris cervinana has numerous color forms, with many related to the degree to which white scales and scale patches are expressed on the forewings. One of the most boldly marked and common forms has a mostly light reddish-brown forewing with a dark brown costal triangle near the mid-wing that has a white center. The head is white and the thorax concolorous with the forewing ground color. Thin lines of white scales that are often broken occur along the proximal edge of the costal triangle, along the costal margin on the basal third of the forewing, on the collar between the head and the thorax, and often as one or more white spots along the distal edge of the costal triangle. Variations from this basic pattern include individuals that lack the dark brown portion of the costal triangle (along with the associated white marginal line on the proximal edge of the triangle), and individuals that have the uniformly light reddish-brown ground color replaced with parallel lines of reddish-brown spots. Another common form in North Carolina has the entire dorsal area (including the head, thorax and forewing) uniformly warm brown, with the only dark mark being the outer portion of the costal triangle. Other color morphs are also known, including forms with creamy white or light tan ground colors that are overlain with a reticulated network of irregular, brown lines.

Wingspan: 13-15 mm (Forbes, 1923).

Forewing Length: 7-8 mm (Powell and Opler, 2009).

Adult Structural Features: BugGuide has an image of the male genitalia.

Structural photos

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

Immatures and Development: The larval life history is undocumented.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Acleris cervinana is primarily found in eastern North America, with a few scattered records from farther west in California, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In the East, this species occurs in Canada from Ontario eastward to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and in the U.S. from Maine southwestward to southern Alabama, and westward to western Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and Wisconsin. As of 2024, our records are restricted to the Piedmont and mostly lower-elevation sites in 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
Flight Comments: The adults have been found during every month of the year in different areas of the range, with most local populations probably producing one or two generations per year depending on the latitude and local climatic conditions. Populations in North Carolina appear to have two generations per year, with adults first appearing in February through early-April, then again in mid-May through late-July. A final emergence occurs in the fall beginning in early-October. The adults overwinter and begin reappearing at lights in late-winter as daily temperatures rise.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Klots (1963) reported that this species is often found in bogs and other wetlands in the northern part of its range. We commonly find it in mesic woods and edge habitats.

Larval Host Plants: The larval hosts are poorly documented but include alders (Alnus), Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and hazelnut (Corylus) (MacKay, 1962; Obraztsov, 1963; Prentice, 1966; Brown et al., 2008; Powell and Opler, 2009; Lam et al., 2011). As of 2024, we do not have any feeding records for North Carolina. - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.

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 species is spottily distributed across the state and can be locally common.

Photo Gallery for Acleris cervinana - None

35 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2024-06-17 Lincoln Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, David George on 2024-03-31 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: B. Bockhahn on 2024-03-03 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2023-10-26 Graham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-08-18 Caswell Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-13 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-06-15 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2023-06-01 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-03-23 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-02-23 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2022-07-30 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: John Petranka on 2022-07-30 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-03-06 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-03-04 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2021-12-03 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-10-06 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-07-01 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: on 2020-11-21 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2020-11-19 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-03-26 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-03-11 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2020-01-15 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2020-01-15 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-12-28 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-10-29 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-10-03 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-07-25 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-06-21 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-06-21 Madison Co. Comment: