Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Gracillariidae Members:	Cameraria Members:	4 NC Records

Cameraria castaneaeella (Chambers, 1875) - No Common Name

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Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Gracillarioidea

Family:
Gracillariidae

Subfamily:
Lithocolletinae

P3 Number:
33a0230

MONA Number:
812.00

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.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Braun, 1908.

Adult Markings: The following is based on Braun's (1908) description of adults based on specimens from Kentucky and Ohio. The antennae is gray and banded above with dark brown. The face and palpi are tinged with ocherous, while the tuft is reddish orange and paler in the middle. The thorax and forewings are reddish orange. The forewing has a small white costal spot at the basal third of the forewing that is margined behind with black scales. At the middle of the wing is an obtusely angulated, nearly straight fascia, that is dark margined behind and sometimes on the costa before. At the angle of the fascia the dark dusting projects backward along the middle of the wing and unites with the dusting that forms the external margin of a white costal streak at the beginning of the cilia. Opposite this streak, the position of a dorsal streak is faint. A small, white spot also occurs just before the dusted apex. Sometimes the dusting behind the fascia and at the apex is almost entirely lacking. A dark line occurs through the middle of the cilia, which are brownish ocherous, but shade to gray at the tornus. The hindwing and hindwing cilia are gray, but the latter has a reddish tinge. The abdomen is dark gray, and the front and middle tarsi are banded with black and white. The hind tarsi are mostly white, but tipped with black. Two traits that are particularly helpful for identifying this species are the small white costal spot at the basal third of the forewing (often absent in North Carolina specimens), and the single, angulated, nearly straight fascia at the middle of the forewing. Cameraria fasciella is similar, but lacks the white costal spot, as well as the costal streak near the cilia. It has not been documented in North Carolina as of 2024.

Wingspan: Expanse 6-7.5 mm (Braun, 1908).

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: The larvae mine the upper surfaces of oaks and chestnuts and produce a somewhat oval blotch. The larva hibernates on a slight bed of silk beneath the folded epidermis, which typically has a single, well-defined crease (Braun, 1908; Eiseman, 2019).

Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Cameraria castaneaeella occurs as scattered populations from Maine and Connecticut, south and southwestward to Kentucky, Ohio, and North Carolina. Our only records for North Carolina as of 2019 are from Durham County.

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
Immature Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Cameraria castaneaeella feeds on chestnuts as well as several species of oaks and likely occurs in a variety of hardwood and urban forests with these host species.

Larval Host Plants: Braun (1908) reported that the larvae feed on chestnuts and various species of oaks, but did not report the particular oak species. Eiseman's list of known hosts include American Chestnut (Castanea dentata), European Chestnut (C. sativa), Bear Oak (Quercus ilicifolia) and Willow Oak (Q. phellos). Tracy Feldman found mines on a young oak that was likely either Black Oak (Q. velutina) or Southern Red Oak (Q. falcata). It is likely that many other species in the red oak group will eventually be added to this list. - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Oak-Hickory Forests

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: [GNR] S2S4

State Protection:

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Cameraria castaneaeella - None

Photos: 7

	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-09 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-09 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Rob Van Epps on 2019-07-29 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2017-08-17 Durham Co. Comment: An adult that emerged from a mine that was collected on 2017-08-08 (see companion photos of the mines).
	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2017-08-08 Durham Co. Comment: A dissected mine on an oak leaf from a young oak (probably Q. velutina or falcata) with the leaf epidermis removed; note the pupa that is beneath a protective webbing of silk.		Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2017-08-08 Durham Co. Comment: A view from the underside of a leaf on a young oak (probably Q. velutina or falcata) with an upper-surface blotch mine.
	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2017-08-08 Durham Co. Comment: An upper-surface blotch mine on a young oak (probably Q. velutina or falcata). See the companion photo of the adult from 2017-08-17 that emerged. Note the single conspicuous crease in the middle and the circular area with silk webbing.