Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
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View PDFPyralidae Members: Ephestia Members: 16 NC Records

Ephestia elutella (Hübner, 1796) - Tobacco Moth

No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Pyraloidea		 Family:
Pyralidae		Subfamily:
Phycitinae		Tribe:
Phycitini		P3 Number:
80a0182		 MONA Number:
6021.00		 Other Common Names:
Cacao Moth, Warehouse Moth
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Neunzig (1996)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: "I can sometimes tell these, but the small, gray phycitines are best dissected, because there are several species, easily told by genitalia. You certainly also have Ephestia columbiella, another small gray phycitine" (Scholtens, 2017)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable only by close inspection of structural features or by DNA analysis.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Ephestia elutellaAlamance 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%20Hanover 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 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are apparently broadly polyphagous, reported on a wide range of crop plants, including onion, cabbage, peppers, soybean, alfalfa, tobacco, rice, potato, and grape; but also on chestnut, walnut, and cherry (Heppner, 2007; Robinson et al., 2010). - View
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks:
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
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