Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« »
View PDFGracillariidae Members:
Caloptilia Members:
26 NC Records

Caloptilia negundella (Chambers, 1876) - Boxelder Leafroller Moth


view caption
view caption
view caption
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Gracillarioidea Family: GracillariidaeSubfamily: GracillariinaeTribe: [Gracillariini]P3 Number: 330137.00 MONA Number: 615.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes, 1923; Chambers, 1876aTechnical Description, Immature Stages: Braun (1912)                                                                                  
Adult Markings: The following is based primarily on descriptions in Forbes (1923) and Chambers (1876a). The head, thorax and ground color of the forewing are light tawny brown to golden brown. The face is pale below and the labial palp is dirty yellowish white, with the tip of the joints fuscous to dark brown. The antenna is brown and obscurely annulated with darker color. A patch or wash of yellowish or yellowish brown scales is usually present near the base of the wing before the costal patch. The costal patch is light yellow, has a wide triangular base, and becomes truncated and flat-topped before reaching the inner margin. The anterior edge of the patch contrast rather sharply with the darker ground color, while the posterior edge extends posteriorly as a narrow band along the costal margin towards the apex. On some individuals the band is fragmented into one or more blotches, and on many individuals a small black spot is present near the posterior end of the truncated portion of the costal patch. A series of fine blackish dots extend along the costal margin from the anterior section of the costal patch towards the apex. The fringe of unworn specimens has three blackish stripes. The femor and tibia of the front and middle legs are dark brown, while the tarsi are white with a dark band that is followed distally with fine dots at the joints. The hindleg is lighter and faintly dotted at the tarsal joints. This species closely resembles of summer form of C. ostryaeella and is most easily distinguished by the presence of a dark band on the upper tarsi of the front and middle legs. The band is missing on C. ostryaeella.
Wingspan: 13 mm (Forbes, 1923).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae mine the leaflets of Boxelder. The mine reportedly begins as a narrow linear mine on the underside. The larva eventually crosses to the upper leaflet surface, where it creates a rather large whitish blotch. It then exits the blotch mine and rolls the leaflet downward from the tip to create a cone (Eiseman, 2019). Mines on Boxelder from North Carolina that are presumably those of Caloptilia negundella produce an initial whitish linear mine that is epidermal, then switch to producing a full-depth blotch that is brownish. The initial linear portion can occur on either the upper or lower surface of a leaflet. A larva in a leaf roll that was observed by Jim Petranka in Madison County pupated in a thin, elongated, papery cocoon that was attached to the leaf surface. The adult emerged 17 days later.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Caloptilia negundella is found primarily in eastern North America, but a disjunct is present in California and a few scattered populations are known from Albert, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. In the East, population occur in southern Canada (Ontario; Quebec) and from the northeastern states westward to Illinois, Minnesota, and Oklahoma. The range extends as far south as central Mississippi and northern Florida. Populations are poorly represented in the southeastern Coastal Plain where Box-elder is less common. As of 2020, all of our records are from the 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)

Click on graph to enlarge