Moths of North Carolina
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Lineodes Members:
12 NC Records

Lineodes fontella Walsingham, 1913 - Eastern Lineodes Moth


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Pyraloidea Family: CrambidaeSubfamily: PyraustinaeTribe: SpilomeliniP3 Number: 801217.00 MONA Number: 5106.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Walsingham (1913)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Hayden et al., 2013                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is a distinctive moth that has long legs, long antennae, narrow wings, and a complex and distinctive pattern on the apical half of the wing. Individuals often rest with their abdomen curled upward well above the wings. The forewing is suffused with fawn-brown that phases into dark brown or brownish-black in the more conspicuous markings, such as the dark patch long the inner margin at two-thirds the wing length. There are five small dark fuscous spots on the costa — one near the base, one at one-third, and a group of three on the outer third (Walsingham, 1913). The antemedial and postmedial lines are very distinctive in being black with a thin, white margin on the outer side, and in having very convoluted paths with conspicuous loops along the way. The hindwing and cilia are pale grayish ocherous, with one or two short, transverse, dark lines below the end of the cell, and a dark line along the base of the cilia.
Wingspan: 16-17 mm (Walsingham, 1913)
Forewing Length: 6.7 - 8.7 mm (Hayden et al. (2013).
Adult Structural Features: Hayden et al. (2013) have images of the male and female genitalia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Hayden et al. (2013) reported that the larvae in Florida feed on the fruits of ground cherries. They mostly feed on the fruit surface to a depth of a few millimeters, but occasionally bore more deeply. The pupal stage lasts 5 to 9 days, and the larvae can be found from April through October. Tracy Feldman reared an adult in North Carolina from a larva that was in a leaf fold of Dune Ground-cherry (Physalis walteri). The leaf was folded together with silk and the larva skeletonized the leaf surface within the fold.

The larvae are pale and lack pigmentation on the pinacula. The prothoracic shield lacks a pair of black spots as seen in Lineodes integra, which could potentially occur in North Carolina. The pattern of setae is otherwise similar, having two SV setae on A1 and SD1 on A8 anterodorsal of the spiracle. The larva that Tracy Feldman discovered was pale green with a pale amber head and lacked any conspicuous markings.

Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Lineodes fontella is widely distributed in the Neotropics, the Caribbean, and the southern U.S., and also occurs in a few counties in California (Hayden et al., 2013). In the Southeast, is it mostly found in coastal habitats from North Carolina southward to southern Florida, and westward to southern Texas. As of 2023, we have three site records and all are from coastal habitats.
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
Immature 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, with a seasonal peak typically in late-summer or early-fall. As of 2023, our records are from mid-August through early December, with the exception of one early season record from February.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: All of our records come from dune grass/shrublands on barrier islands.
Larval Host Plants: The larvae appear to specialize on ground cherries (Physalis spp.; Hayden et al., 2013). The reported hosts include Cutleaf Ground-cherry (P. angulata), Mexican Ground-cherry (P. philadelphica), Downy Ground-cherry (P. pubescens), Sticky Ground-cherry (P. viscosa), and Walter’s Ground-cherry ( = Dune Ground-cherry; P. walteri). Tracy Feldman reared an adult from Walter’s Ground-cherry, which is our only known host in North Carolina as of 2023. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and the larvae can be found feeding on ground cherries. We need additional information on host use in North Carolina.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Maritime Dune Grass and Forblands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S1S3
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: The likely host plant of this species, Physalis walteri, is state ranked as S3 and appears to be strongly confined to barrier island sand dunes and possibly other tidewater grass and shrublands. The moth has only been collected at three locations as of 2023, but can be expected to turn up at other coastal sites where the host plant occurs.

 Photo Gallery for Lineodes fontella - Eastern Lineodes Moth

Photos: 10

Recorded by: R. Newman on 2023-11-18
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2023-10-25
Pender Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2023-09-19
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2023-09-06
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Tracy Feldman on 2023-07-29
New Hanover Co.
Comment: A leaf fold on Dune Groundcherry (Physalis walteri); adult was reared. 		Recorded by: Tracy Feldman on 2023-07-29
New Hanover Co.
Comment: A leaf fold on Dune Groundcherry (Physalis walteri); adult was reared.
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2023-02-15
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-12-07
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 2020-08-16
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Newman, Randy on 2005-09-29
Carteret Co.
Comment: