Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« »
View PDFCrambidae Members:
Diacme Members:
136 NC Records

Diacme adipaloides (Grote & Robinson, 1867) - Darker Diacme Moth


view caption
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Pyraloidea Family: CrambidaeSubfamily: PyraustinaeTribe: SpilomeliniP3 Number: 801350.00 MONA Number: 5143.00
Species Status: "There seems to be a great deal of confusion over these two species [elealis and adipaloides]. We desperately need to check the types to see what each name applies to. I think there are warm and cold season forms of each" (Scholtens, 2017).
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The Paler Diacme (Diacme elealis) and the Darker Diacme (D. adipaloides) are two closely related species that occur in North Carolina and are very similar in size and external markings. Diacme adipaloides generally appears somewhat darker overall, but light-colored forms are common, and the general shade of the forewing and abdomen is not useful in separating the species. Both species typically rest with the forewings spread to reveal a broad, brownish to purplish-brown subterminal band on both the forewing and hindwing. The remainder of the wing surfaces consist of a light caramel-colored to yellowish ground that is overlain with a series of dark brown to purplish brown lines, along with two dark, rectangular patches on the forewing that extend inward from the costa. The first patch occurs just before the middle of the costa and is followed by a shorter one that occurs just beyond the middle. The costa can vary from various shades of brown to brownish yellow along its length, or be solid brown on the more darkly shaded individuals. Dark-shaded individuals often have the veins shaded with brown to produce localized, reticulated patterning. This tends to be most prevalent on the apical third of the forewing.

A recent study (see BugGuide) found a mark that appears to be diagnostic for separating the two species based on verification with barcoded specimens. It consists of a short, inwardly curved, basal line on the hindwing that is only present on D. adipaloides. When viewing a resting individual from above, the line appears to originate at abdominal segment two (see image above). This mark may be masked in very darkly shaded individuals, and can be faint in light colored individuals. Here, we consider the presence of this mark to be diagnostic for D. adipaloides. A less reliable feature is that the lines that cross both wings tend to be narrower and often broken in D. elealis, with the ones on the basal half of the hindwing represented as two dark spots. In addition, the basal area of the forewing is typically yellowish in D. elealis versus being dusted with brownish scales in D. adipaloides
Wingspan: 20 mm (Forbes, 1923).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
Immatures and Development: The larval life history is undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Diacme adipaloides occurs throughout most of the eastern U.S. and in Canada where it has been documented in the Northwest Territories, and from British Columbia eastward to Nova Scotia. In the U.S. it occurs from Maine southward to southern Florida and westward to Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. 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