Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGracillariidae Members: Phyllonorycter Members: 32 NC Records

Phyllonorycter lucetiella (Clemens, 1859) - Basswood Miner Moth

Phyllonorycter lucetiella
view caption 		Phyllonorycter lucetiella
view caption 		Phyllonorycter lucetiellaPhyllonorycter lucetiella
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Gracillarioidea		 Family:
Gracillariidae		P3 Number:
33a0332		 MONA Number:
764.00		 Other Common Name:
Basswood Square-blotch Miner Moth
Comments: Phyllonorycter is a genus of small and often colorful moths, with 79 described species in North America. The larvae of most form underside tentiform mines on woody plants and pupate within the mines.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following is primarily based on the descriptions in Clemens (1859) and Forbes (1923). The antenna, head, tufts, thorax, and basal half of the forewing are white to silvery white, while the apical half of the forewing is suffused with golden. A faint, narrow, golden costal streak extends from the base to about one-third the forewing length. At about the middle, there is a white fascia that is bordered on the anterior margin by a thin line of black scales (sometimes missing or faintly present). These terminate on the costa, where they are more prominent and usually form a small black spot. At the beginning of cilia there is a pair of white streaks that are black-margined anteriorly. The dorsal streak is oblique and prominently marked with blackish scales on the anterior margin. The costal streak is much shorter and margined anteriorly with blackish scales that form a well-developed spot. The golden ground color extends from just anterior to the median fascia to the paired streaks, then as a small region of golden scales that occurs just posterior to the gap between the dorsal and costal streaks. The cilia and remaining area posterior to the streaks is mostly white, or white with suffused golden coloration. The legs are white to silvery white and lack any conspicuous dark markings.
Wingspan: 6-7 mm (Forbes, 1923).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae produce lower-surface mines that are constructed between either two lateral veins, or the midvein and a lateral vein. The mines are usually roughly rectangular in shape, but sometimes triangular. A mine first appears only as a flat, whitish blotch on the lower surface. As it grows, the larva progessively consumes the parenchyma in the mine while working its way inward from the margins. When viewed from the upper leaf surface, this produces a green central patch that is eventually lost as all of the parenchyma is consumed (Clemens, 1859; Eiseman, 2019). The frass is concentrated along the margins. Most mines are rather flat, but those near the leaf margin may be tentiform (Eiseman, 2019). Pupation occurs within the mine in an oval cocoon. The larva is cylindrical with a pale brown head,
pale greenish white body, and with a series of dorsal brown spots from the third ring posteriorly (Clemens, 1859).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Phyllonorycter lucetiella is found in eastern North America, including southern Canada (Ontario; Quebec) and through many areas of the eastern US. This species tends to have northern affinities, with most records occurring from Minnesota eastward to the northeastern states, and then south or southwestward to Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina. Populations in the Florida panhandle appear to be disjuncts. As of 2023, our records are mostly from the Blue Ridge, with two additional records from the Piedmont.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Phyllonorycter lucetiella
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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