Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNepticulidae Members:
Ectoedemia Members:
14 NC Records

Ectoedemia trinotata (Braun, 1914) - No Common Name

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Nepticuloidea Family: NepticulidaeP3 Number: 160086.00 MONA Number: 41.00
Comments: This genus includes 15 Nearctic species of small, leaf-mining moths.
Species Status: Wilkinson and Newton (1981) divided the North American Ectoedemia into four species groups based on the morphology of the genitalia. The populella group contains E. trinotata and four other species (E. argyropeza, E. canutus, E. marmaropa, E. populella).
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Braun (1917)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Braun (1917)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is based on Wilkinson and Newton (1981) and Braun (1917). The tuft on the front of the head is ochreous, while the vertex is paler. The palps are whitish, and the basal segment of the antenna is dilated and concave beneath to form a large whitish eye-cap. The antenna is dark brown. The thorax is very dark gray-brown with purple and blue reflections. The forewing has a very dark brown to blackish ground color, with deep blue reflections in the basal third. The apical two thirds is irrorate, and the base of each scale is grayish with pale bluish iridescence. There is a white spot of variable size at the basal third of the costa. At the apical third there is a costal and opposing basal spot. These are shining white and larger than the costal spot at one-third. The costal spot is usually more oblique, with its tip extending outward beyond the opposite dorsal spot. The cilia are almost entirely pure white. The hindwing and cilia are pale silvery gray to brownish gray. The legs are dark brown, and the tarsal joints are dark tipped. Many of the Ectoedemia species have similar external maculation and are often best identified by using either genitalia or the host plants. Ectoedemia trinotata is distinctive in having a white spot at the basal third of the costa.
Wingspan: 3.8-5.3 mm for males and 4.4-5.4 mm for females (Wilkinson and Newton, 1981).
Adult Structural Features: The following descriptions of the genitalia are from Wilkinson and Newton (1981). Males: The pseuduncus has a single lobe. The gnathos is W-shaped with a long medial process, and the dorsolateral arms are short. The lateral arms of the vinculum are broad, and the ventral plate is very narrow. The saccus is approximately five times the width of the ventral plate and weakly bilobed. The valves do not reach beyond the pseuduncus, are quadrate, and have a triangular inner process that arises distally. The transtillae has an inverted U-shape. The lateral arms are broad and short, and the ventral arms are narrow and reach just beyond the ventral plate. The transverse bars are fused to form a narrow arcuate strap. The aedeagus is regular in shape, and approximately equal to the length of the capsule. The vesica has cornuti that appear as many small denticles that are evenly distributed, along with a plate of minute papillae in the shape of a figure eight. The anellus comprises a pair of lateral spines, and a pair of large canine tooth-like spines. Female: The ductus bursae is short with the colliculum occurring as a sclerotized double ring associated with a large lobe that bears scattered spicules. The accessory duct arises from the area of dilation of the ductus, and is distally spiraled. The bursa copulatrix is very large and covered with small scallop-shaped chains of pectinations on striations of the bursa. The signum is double, and comprises a pair of long cellular patches that are equal in area. The anterior apophyses are long and broad. The posterior apophyses are straight and broad, and equal in length to the anterior apophyses.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The eggs are laid on the upper and lower leaf surfaces of hickories, and usually near a vein. The dull gray larvae mine the parenchyma and form blotch mines. The mine begins as an extremely narrow and short linear track. It then suddenly expands into a broader track that is 1 mm or more in width, and finally into a blotch that varies from 3-6 mm in width (Braun, 1917). The mine is nearly transparent, which distinguishes the young mines from those of Stigmella caryaefoliella. The fourth instar larva exits the leaf via a semicircular slit and spins a reddish brown cocoon externally. The larvae in the last brood overwinter, then have a brief pupal stage before the adult emerges in May or June. Larvae of E. trinotata and E. virgulae both use hickories and sometimes coexist in the same community. Our limited observations indicate that the mines of E. trinotata have a distinct linear portion and the larvae are dull greenish-gray. In contrast, the mines of E. virgulae lack a conspicuous linear component and the larvae are bright green.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Ectoedemia trinotata occurs in eastern North America from Illinois, Ohio, and Ontario eastward to Quebec, Vermont and Connecticut. The range extends southward to Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and North Carolina. As of 2021, our records for North Carolina are from the western Coastal Plain, Piedmont and lower elevations in the mountains.
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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