Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGracillariidae Members:
Neurobathra Members:
57 NC Records

Neurobathra strigifinitella (Clemens, 1860) - No Common Name


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Gracillarioidea Family: GracillariidaeSubfamily: GracillariinaeTribe: [Gracillariini]P3 Number: 330187.00 MONA Number: 663.00
Comments: Neurobathra is a small genus of leaf-mining moths with only three described species in North America. Of these, N. strigifinitella is the only species that occurs in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Heinrich and DeGryse, 1915; Forbes, 1923Technical Description, Immature Stages: Heinrich and DeGryse, 1915                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is primarily based on Heinrich and DeGryse (1915) and Forbes (1923). The palps are smoothly scaled and are yellowish white with brown barring. The maxillary palps are very small and less than a fifth as long as the upturned labial palps. The head and antenna are dull brown, and the antenna slightly exceeds the length of the body. The forewing is long and narrow and has complex patterning. The ground color varies from light brown to grayish brown and is striated obliquely from both margins with white striae that are edged with black. These tend to alternate with heavier solid black streaks or blotches. The three or four white streaks that originate from the dorsal margin are generally larger and more prominent that those from the costal margin. There is a conspicuous dark eyespot near the apex. Adjoining this dorsally, there is a short, fine, white longitudinal streak that in turn adjoins a prominent dark bar in the cilia. Beyond this, a thinner dark line is usually evident in the cilia. The hindwing is brownish gray, and the legs show varying levels of white and blackish banding. Despite the complex patterning, this species is easy to identify given its elongated, narrow wings, long antennae, recurved palps, apical eyespot, and the dark bar in the cilia.
Wingspan: 8 mm (Forbes, 1923).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Females lay their eggs singly on the lower leaf surface, usually near the base and between the lateral veins. The hatchling first makes a short, irregular, linear mine just beneath the lower epidermis. After the second molt, it bores into and mines a lateral vein. The fourth and later instars bore in the midrib. The mature larva emerges from the upper side of the midrib, typically near the tip of the leaf (Heinrich and DeGryse, 1915; Eiseman, 2019). If the midrib does not provide enough food to complete development, the larva will mine an irregular blotch adjacent to the midrib at the tip of the leaf. When finished feeding, the larva drops down on a strand of silk and spins a cocoon, usually on the underside of a leaf near the edge or against a major vein. The elliptical cocoon is transparent, white, and flat, and is decorated with 4–10 small, pearl-like globules (Heinrich and DeGryse, 1915; Eiseman, 2019). Most leaves have only one or two mines, but as many as four have been found on a single leaf.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Neurobathra strigifinitella is found in eastern North America, including Ontario, Quebec, and much of the eastern US. Populations are common and widespread east of the Mississippi River, with only a few scattered populations in Oklahoma and Texas. This species occurs statewide in North Carolina, but populations appear to be more common in the mountains and Piedmont where deciduous forests predominate.
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)

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