Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGracillariidae Members:
Cameraria Members:
8 NC Records

Cameraria bethunella (Chambers, 1871) - No Common Name

Taxonomy
Family: GracillariidaeSubfamily: LithocolletinaeP3 Number: 330346.00 MONA Number: 809.00
Comments: Cameraria is a genus of leaf-mining micromoths. Many species are stenophagous and specialize on a small number of closely related host species. There are currently more than 50 described species in North America.
Species Status: There are numerous species of Cameraria in the eastern US that feed on oaks, including several species that are similar to C. bethunella. Braun (1908) published a comprehensive monograph on Cameraria that included detailed descriptions of all, but many were based on one or a few local populations and did not fully capture the range of variation within each species. Since the publication of Braun's work, no one has published a revision that incorporates genitalia and molecular data to delineate species. As such, identifications of some species must remain tentative, including C. bethunella and related forms. Eiseman (2021) has reared adults that conform to C. bethunella from mines with very different characteristics, which suggests that this may be a species complex, but much work needs to be done to verify this.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Braun (1908).Technical Description, Immature Stages: Eiseman (2021)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following is largely based on Chambers' (1871) original description. The face and palpi are silvery white; the antennae silvery white beneath and brownish banded with white above. The head tuft is golden and interspersed with white scales to produce an overall light tan to whitish coloration. The thorax is reddish orange and sometimes faintly edged with white on the upper margins. The forewing is reddish orange, and has three pairs of costal and dorsal silvery streaks with dark margins on the posterior edge. The first pair of streaks is shorter than the middle pair, and the dorsal streak is nearer to the wing base than the costal streak. The costal streak is oblique and at about the basal one-third of the wing. The second pair occurs at about the middle of the wing. These streaks are opposite each other, are slanted or curved towards the rear, and often connect to form an angulated fascia. The dark dusting on the posterior margin typically extends from the fascia angle posteriorly towards the third pair of streaks. The third pair is a little behind the apical one-third, and the two streaks are opposite, relatively straight, and sometimes fuse to form a fascia. The apex is dusted with a patch of blackish scales. A small white spot or streak adjoins the black patch. The cilia are fulvous, with a dark brown marginal line at their base. C. fletcherella is similar, but has a fourth costal streak. The tuft is also white in the middle and ocherous on the sides. C. arcuella is a larger species (wingespan = 10 mm), and lacks the dark dusting that extends from the fascia angle posteriorly towards the third pair of streaks.
Wingspan: 6.5-7.5 mm (Braun, 1908).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae exhibit geographic variation in mine characteristics (Eiseman, 2021). The larvae form oval, upper surface blotch mines on oaks and chestnuts, and the larvae pupate in flat, oval, silken cocoons within the mine (Braun, 1908). Eiseman (2021) reared adults that conform to this species from two different types of mines depending on the host plant and geographic location. Those from North Carolina are roundish or lobed with all the frass collected in a dark, circular, central spot. Mines that we have observed in North Carolina also conform to Eiseman's description for North Carolina material. Pupation takes place within the dark central spot. The larvae of most instars are amber-colored with a dark brown plate that extends across each abdominal segment, while the prepupate that we have observed are more yellowish and lack the dorsal plates. In North Carolina a single oak leaf may have several mines.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Cameraria bethunella appears to be broadly distributed in eastern North America. Populations have been documented in southern Ontario and Quebec, and in much of the eastern US from the northeastern states to as far south as Texas, northern Louisiana and northern Mississippi. It appears to be absent or rare in most of the southeastern Coastal Plain. As of 2023, we have a very small number of site records. Except for one lower-elevation site in the Blue Ridge, all are from the eastern Piedmont.
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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