Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFBucculatricidae Members: Bucculatrix Members: 1 NC Records

Bucculatrix ochrisuffusa Braun, 1963 - No Common Name

Bucculatrix ochrisuffusa
Taxonomy
Family:
Bucculatricidae		P3 Number:
33a0073		 MONA Number:
553.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Braun, 1963; Eiseman, 2022.                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Bucculatrix ochrisuffusa is best identified by its large size (wing span around 8 mm) and its overall bright reddish-orange coloration. This species was described from a single female caught in Cincinnati, Ohio (Braun, 1963). Tracy Feldman and Charley Eiseman also reared a female from a pupal cocoon that was found in North Carolina and pictured in Eiseman (2022). This specimen best conforms to B. ochrisuffusa based on its maculation and genitalia. The following description is based on the description by Braun (1963) and the image pictured by Eiseman (2022). These two specimens are the only known ones as of 2025.

The face and eye-caps are pale yellowish-orange, and the head tuft and thorax are a deeper reddish-orange. The antennal stalk is pale and annulated with dark brown. The forewing is mostly bright reddish-orange, with a few brown-tipped scales on the costal area beyond the middle, and along the dorsum from the dark patch of raised scales to the tornus. The apical area is paler and may have a cluster of a few dark apical scales, but no well-defined dark apical spot. The forewing has three oblique, more-or-less parallel, and equally- spaced whitish streaks. These include an oblique streak at one-fifth, a second at around one-half, and a third at around three-fourths the wing length. The last appears angulated due to a matching streak that extends from the sub-tornal region to near the tip of the third streak (note: Braun (1963) only reported the presence of the first two streaks in her one female specimen). A reddish-brown ciliary line may or may not be present. The hindwing and cilia are brownish fuscous and darker than the forewing. Bucculatrix ochrisuffusa generally resembles several other species with oblique whitish streaks on a darker background (e.g., B. luteella; B. coronatella), but can be distinguished by its large size, the absence of heavy speckling on the forewing, and its bright reddish-orange coloration.
Wingspan: 8 mm (Braun, 1963).
Adult Structural Features: Braun (1963) has a description and illustration of the female genitalia; the male genitalia have not been described.
Immatures and Development: The larval life history is undocumented as of 2025. This species presumably has a life cycle that is similar to most Bucculatrix, with the early instars mining leaves, then leaving and feeding on the undersides of the leaf surfaces. The pupal cocoon is medium brown with a few widely-spaced, coarse, longitudinal ridges on each side (Eiseman, 2022).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: We are only aware of two specimens have been collected as on 2025, with one from Ohio and the second from North Carolina.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Bucculatrix ochrisuffusaAlamance 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 		No records for adults.
Immature Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: immatures.
Flight Comments: The flight season is poorly documented. The two known specimens were found in June and November (North Carolina).
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Our one record for North Carolina was at a xeric site with Turkey Oak that was within 10 meters of a bottomland forest.
Larval Host Plants: Braun (1963) surmised that the host is probably White Oak (Quercus alba), but the only documented host is Turkey Oak (Q. laevis) from North Carolina.
Observation Methods: This species is probably best sought after by searching for the molting and pupal cocoons on the undersides of oak leaves.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: [SR?]
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR SNR [S1S2]
State Protection:
Comments: Bucculatrix ochrisuffusa appears to be a rare species, with only two known specimens that have been collected since 1910, including a relatively recent specimen from North Carolina.

 Photo Gallery for Bucculatrix ochrisuffusa - None

Photos: 1
Bucculatrix ochrisuffusa
Recorded by: Tracy Feldman on 2018-10-15
Scotland Co.
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