Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Tortricidae Members:	Acleris Members:	81 NC Records

Acleris maculidorsana (Clemens, 1864) - Stained-back Leafroller Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Tortricoidea

Family:
Tortricidae

Subfamily:
Tortricinae

Tribe:
Tortricini

P3 Number:
51a0044

MONA Number:
3543.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

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

Adult Markings: This is a distinctively marked Acleris with resting individuals having a silvery-gray, donut-shaped pattern that encloses a horse-shoe-shaped chestnut-brown mark. The palps, head and antennae are silvery-gray and the thorax mostly so except for a thin, faint, chestnut-brown, weakly curved line on the anterior end, and a chestnut-brown spot or short, longitudinal dash on the posterior margin. The forewing has a conspicuous, broad, silvery-gray arc that extends from the wing base and gradually narrows before terminating at or near the inner margin at around one-half the wing length. The region inward from the silvery-gray arc consists of a smaller dark-brown arc along the inner margin, with the proximal end often being continuous with similar-colored marks on the posterior half of the thorax. The area distal to the silvery-gray arc has a chestnut-brown ground colored that is overlain with varying amounts of silvery-gray frosting. The entire wing often has varying degrees of fine, widely-spaced, dark brown speckling, with the specks often evident along the outer margin of the silvery-gray arc. The fringe is silvery-gray and the hindwing varies from tan to light-brown.

In North Carolina, A. maculidorsana is most easily confused A. robinsoniana. In A. maculidorsana, the curved line on the anterior edge of the thorax is chestnut-brown, the outer edge of the silvery-gray arc is relatively smooth, the posterior half of the wing is usually overlain with silvery-gray frosting, and the forewing is speckled with fine dark-brown marks. In A. robinsoniana, the line on the anterior edge of the thorax is dark-brown to blackish-brown, the outer edge of the silvery-gray arc is relatively wavy, the posterior half of the wing has little or no silvery-gray frosting, and the forewing has less speckling. In addition, the dark mark along the inner margin on the basal fourth of the wing tends to be arc-shaped in A. maculidorsana versus more triangular-shaped in A. robinsoniana.

Wingspan: 17-20 mm (Forbes, 1923).

Adult Structural Features: MPG and BugGuide have illustrations of the male and female genitalia. Also, see images below.

Structural photos

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

Immatures and Development: The larval life history is poorly documented.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Acleris maculidorsana is widely distributed in eastern North American where is occurs in southern Canada (Manitoba; Ontario; Quebec; New Brunswick; Nova Scotia) and in the U.S. from Maine southward along the Atlantic Coast states to northern Florida, and westward to Louisiana, Arkansas, western Kentucky, Ohio, northern Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. A few records are also known from British Columbia and Alberta. This species occurs statewide in North Carolina.

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 during every month of the year in different areas of the range. As of 2024, our records extend from early-January to late-December. Local populations appear to have two generations per year, with the adults from the second brood emerging in the autumn and overwintering. They become progressively more active with the late-winter and spring warm-up, at which point mating and egg-laying presumably occurs. The adults from the first brood emerge during the summer months and those from the second brood in the autumn.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Most of our records are from semi-wooded residential neighborhoods, and most from sites with mesic hardwood communities present or nearby.

Larval Host Plants: This species is probably polyphagous, but the host records are rather sparse. The reported hosts include Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata), St. John's-wort (Hypericum), including Common St. John's-wort (H. perforatum), laurels (Kalmia), and a blueberry (Vaccinium sp.) (Forbes, 1923; Lam et al., 2011; Brown et al., 2008; Wagner et al., 2015). As of 2024, We do not have any feeding records for North Carolina. - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and are attracted to bait.

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 can be locally common in the Blue Ridge at mid- to lower-elevations, but is generally uncommon in the state -- with fewer than 15 site records as of 2024. More information is needed on its habitat preferences and hosts before we can accurately assess its conservation status in North Carolina.

Photo Gallery for Acleris maculidorsana - Stained-back Leafroller Moth

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

	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-03-30 Madison Co. Comment: Specimen dissected (female).		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-03-30 Madison Co. Comment: Female genitalia.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-03-30 Madison Co. Comment: Signum in bursa.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-03-25 Madison Co. Comment: Female.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-03-25 Madison Co. Comment: Female genitalia.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-03-25 Madison Co. Comment: Female bursa with signum.
	Recorded by: Lenny Lampel on 2024-06-25 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-04-18 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-04-14 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2024-03-07 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-03-04 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-01-26 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-10-27 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-04-18 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-04-12 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2023-03-25 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-03-05 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2023-02-27 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-01-02 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-04-21 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-03-31 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-03-30 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-03-23 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-03-06 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-12-17 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-10-29 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-10-21 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-04-28 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2021-04-15 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-04-09 Madison Co. Comment: