Moths of North Carolina
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43 NC Records

Tinea mandarinella Dietz, 1905 - Mandarin Tinea Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tineoidea Family: TineidaeSubfamily: TineinaeTribe: [Tineini]P3 Number: 300152.00 MONA Number: 400.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Leckie and Beadle, 2018Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Dietz (1905) and Forbes (1923)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following descrition is primarily based on Dietz (1905) and Forbes (1923). The head and tuft are pale yellowish and the antenna fuscous. The labial palps are pale yellowish white and tinged with fuscous beneath. The thorax is grayish fuscous to pale yellowish and the tegula deep brown. The forewing is two-toned, with most being dark brown or fuscous with scattered yellowish scales. This contrast with a light yellow, sinuous, longitudinal streak that extends along the inner margin to about three-fifths its length (sometimes extending all the way to the fringe). The streak extends inward to about one-third the wing depth and is often sprinkled with dark brown scales. At about one-third and two-thirds, the dark portion projects into the yellow streak as a semi-circular spot or dark scalloped region. There is a yellow spot or blotch on the costa just before the apex. The cilia are pale yellow, with the basal part concolorous with the wing. The hindwing is light brown and unicolorous. The legs are yellowish and dusted with fuscous, with the tarsal joints spotted with fuscous. The abdomen is fuscous above and paler at the base. Specimens are variable in terms of the degree to which the yellow longitudinal streak continues along the inner margin. On some specimens the streak continues to the fringe and may even fuse with or fade into the yellow costal blotch. Monopis crocicapitella is very similar, but lacks the sub-apical costal blotch and has a semi-hyaline discal spot at the middle of the wing.
Forewing Length: 4-5 mm TL (Leckie and Beadle, 2018)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larval ecology and life history are undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Tinea mandarinella is found in the eastern US from Maine southward to Florida, and westward to Illinois, Oklahoma, and eastern Texas.
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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