Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGracillariidae Members: Cameraria Members: 21 NC Records

Cameraria saccharella (Braun, 1908) - Sugar Maple Blotchminer Moth


Cameraria saccharellaCameraria saccharellaCameraria saccharellaCameraria saccharella
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Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Gracillarioidea
Family:
Gracillariidae
Subfamily:
Lithocolletinae
P3 Number:
33a0261
MONA Number:
836.00
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, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Braun, 1908.                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following is Braun's (1908) description based on specimens from Cincinnati, Ohio. The antennae are pale ocherous and ringed with dark coloration beyond the basal third. Several joints toward the tip are also dark. The palpi and face are shining white, and the head tuft is whitish above and golden toward the sides. The thorax and forewings are ocherous. A white stripe on each side of the middle of the thorax is continuous with a very oblique curved white streak at the inner angle of the forewing. This streak, which is sometimes dark margined behind, extends to the fold and is usually prolonged along the fold to unite with the first dorsal streak. The first dorsal streak begins at the basal fifth, is oblique and curved, and extends slightly more than halfway across the wing. The second dorsal streak, at about the middle of the dorsal margin, is also oblique and curved, and near the costa its apex meets that of the first costal streak, which is short, oblique and placed slightly beyond the middle, thus forming an acutely angled, interrupted fascia. The second costal streak at the apical fourth is sometimes almost overlaid with black scales. Above the dorsal cilia is a long oblique white streak. All the streaks are dark margined externally. The apical portion is white and dusted with black. There is considerable variation in the extent of the black dusting, which sometimes extends to the tornus. The marginal line in the cilia is brownish ocherous and the cilia is pale ocherous. The hindwings are pale grayish ocherous with pale ocherous cilia. The abdomen is gray above and pale ocherous below, and the anal tuft ocherous.

Features of the forewing that help to distinguish this species from other Cameraria include the presence of oblique costal and dorsal streaks, an oblique white streak or patch at the base of the dorsal margin, and two fasciae that are distinctly angulated. Braun (1908) has color illustrations of species in the eastern US that are useful for comparing closely related forms.
Wingspan: 5-7 mm (Braun, 1908).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Braun (1908) found the mines to be very common on Sugar Maple in Ohio, with as many as 25 or 30 mines sometimes occurring on one leaf. The larvae create elongated irregular blotch mines on the upper surfaces of leaves. The frass pattern appears to vary markedly, perhaps depending on the host species. Braun (1908) illustrated a mine with narrow, central, branching frass deposits. Eiseman (2019) reared an adult from an elongate, widening mine on Red Maple with the frass deposited in a central band. On two other occasions he raised adults from an elongate or branching mine on Southern Sugar Maple with some of the frass centrally deposited, and some along the margins as in C. aceriella. Larvae in North Carolina typically deposit the frass near the center of the mines, which is helpful in distinguishing this species from C. aceriella. The latter also uses maples, but deposits the frass along the outer margins of the mine.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Cameraria saccharella occurs from southern Ontario and Maine, southward and westward to Illinois, Ohio, and North Carolina. As of 2023, our limited records are from scattered localities in the Blue Ridge, Piedmont, and extreme eastern Coastal Plain.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Cameraria saccharellaAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Immature Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: immatures.
Flight Comments: Populations appear to be bivoltine, with adults appearing shortly after the spring leaf-out and later in late-summer or early fall. Eiseman (2019) raised adults from mines that were collected in May, July, and August from North Carolina.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: This species feeds on several species of maples. It likely occurs in urban landscapes, as well as hardwood and mixed hardwood-pine forests throughout the state.
Larval Host Plants: The documented host plants include Florida Maple (A. floridanum), Black Maple (A. nigrum), Red Maple (A. rubrum), Silver Maple (A. saccharinum), and Sugar Maple (A. saccharum) (Braun, 1908; Eiseman, 2019). In North Carolina, we have records for Sugar Maple, Florida Maple, and Red Maple. - View
Observation Methods: The adults appear to only rarely visit lights and are best obtained by rearing the adults.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Maple Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S2S4
State Protection:
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 Photo Gallery for Cameraria saccharella - Sugar Maple Blotchminer Moth

41 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Lior S. Carlson, Dean Furbish on 2025-06-17
Alamance Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Lior S. Carlson, Dean Furbish on 2025-06-17
Alamance Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Lior S. Carlson, Dean Furbish on 2025-06-17
Alamance Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2024-06-19
Orange Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-06-18
Mecklenburg Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-06-18
Mecklenburg Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-06-18
Mecklenburg Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: David George on 2024-06-07
Durham Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: John Petranka on 2023-08-18
Orange Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: John Petranka on 2023-08-18
Orange Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn on 2023-08-12
Caswell Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn on 2023-08-12
Caswell Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-08-04
Madison Co.
Comment: A reared adult from a mine on Sugar Maple; mine on July 15; adult on August 4.
Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-08-04
Madison Co.
Comment: A reared adult from a mine on Sugar Maple; mine on July 15; adult on August 4.
Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-15
Madison Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-15
Madison Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-06-16
Mecklenburg Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-06-16
Mecklenburg Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-06-16
Mecklenburg Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-10-06
Burke Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-10-06
Burke Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka, John Petranka, Becky Elkin, and Steve Hall on 2021-09-28
Durham Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka, John Petranka, Becky Elkin, and Steve Hall on 2021-09-28
Durham Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka, John Petranka, Becky Elkin, and Steve Hall on 2021-09-28
Durham Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-07-24
Jackson Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-07-24
Jackson Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-06-27
McDowell Co.
Comment: Occupied mine was on Red Maple; frass in center of mine (see companion backlit photo)
Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-06-27
McDowell Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-06-12
Wake Co.
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Cameraria saccharellaRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-06-12
Wake Co.
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