Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« Home »
View PDFTortricidae Members: Choristoneura Members: 13 NC Records

Choristoneura obsoletana (Walker, 1863) - Obsolete-banded Leafroller Moth

Choristoneura obsoletanaChoristoneura obsoletanaChoristoneura obsoletanaChoristoneura obsoletana
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Tortricoidea		 Family:
Tortricidae		Subfamily:
Tortricinae		Tribe:
Archipini		P3 Number:
51a0296		 MONA Number:
3631.00		 Other Common Name:
Obsolete Leafroller
Comments: Species of Choristoneura are Holarctic in distribution and occur mostly in the northern half and boreal regions of North America, the British Isles, Europe and northern Asia.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1923); Freeman (1958)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following is based primarily on descriptions by Forbes (1923) and Freeman (1958). The head, palps, antennae, and thorax of the males are pale fawn, while the ground color of the forewing is pale fawn with slightly darker reticulations throughout. The forewing has very limited reddish-brown markings, with the dark basal patch that is present on some Choristoneura missing or obsolete. A small, triangular, subapical patch is usually present but is rather faint. A posteriorly oblique median band is present that extends from the costa to the inner margin, but the central region is obsolete, with distinct dark markings only present on the costa and near the inner margin. The hindwing can be either entirely sordid white, entirely light fuscous, or fuscous on the posterior half and whitish anteriorly and apically. The fringes of all wings are pale and shining. Females are similar but with a darker reddish-brown ground and purplish-black maculations. The forewing of males lack a costal fold and have a convex rather than sinuous costal and outer margin (Forbes, 1923).
Wingspan: 22-23 mm for males and 22-25 mm for females (Freeman, 1958)
Adult Structural Features: Dang (1992) and Freeman (1958) has illustrations of the male and female genitalia.
Genitalia and other structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae are leaf rollers but details of the larval life history are undocumented.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Choristoneura obsoletana is primarily found in the eastern US, but scattered populations have also been found in the central Rockies, and in Nevada, Utah, California and Oregon. In the East, the range extends from Maine southward to southern Florida and westward to central Texas, central Oklahoma, central Kansas, Iowa, and Minnesota. As of 2022, we have only three scattered records from the Coastal Plain and eastern Piedmont.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Choristoneura obsoletanaAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
Piedmont (Pd)
Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge