Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Gracillariidae Members:	Phyllocnistis Members:	80 NC Records

Phyllocnistis vitifoliella Chambers, 1871 - No Common Name

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Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Gracillarioidea

Family:
Gracillariidae

Subfamily:
Phyllocnistinae

P3 Number:
33a0383

MONA Number:
854.00

Comments: Phyllocnistis is a large genus with more than 125 described species worldwide, with 16 species currently recognized in North America. Davis and Wagner (2011) surmised that there may be hundreds of undescribed species in the neotropics. The adults of some species are very similar, and knowledge of the host plant and mine characteristics is helpful in identifying morphologically similar species (Eiseman, 2019).

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

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

Technical Description, Adults: Chambers, 1871.

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Eiseman, 2019.

Adult Markings: The following is based primarily on Chambers’ (1871) original description. The head, thorax, and antenna are glistening snowy white. The ground color of the forewing is also glistening snowy white, but tinged with light golden towards the apex. Overlaying this are a series of narrow, blackish streaks or lines that are less than half the width of the forewing. Near the middle of the wing is a narrow oblique blackish costal streak. Just behind it is a small straight blackish streak that is slightly oblique and that opposes a similar small dorsal streak. There is a conspicuous circular black spot at the wing tip. Just anterior to this there are two straight black costal streaks. At the tip of the wing are three blackish diverging lines in the cilia that tend to converge towards the apical spot. A blackish marginal line arches forward from the apical spot towards the dorsal margin. There is often a broad area of golden wash that adjoins the marginal line on the anterior side. The hindwing and cilia are silvery white. Chambers (1871) noted that P. vitegenella closely resembles P. vitifoliella, but differs in having antennae that are dark above (whitish in P. vitifoliella), a semi-oval dorsal spot (absent in P. vitifoliella), and the second costal streak that unites with the opposite dorsal streak to form a narrow fascia (these remain separated in P. vitifoliella).

Immatures and Development: The larvae produce elongated, winding mines on the upper surfaces of leaves. A larva initially mines the epidermis, which produces a silvery mine (Eiseman, 2019). It then mines deeper into the inner tissues and produces dark frass. The frass tends to be loosely concentrated near the middle, but can sometimes be diffuse and fill much of the mine. The frass, along with necrotic tissue, tends to turn the entire track darker with age. Pupation occurs in an enlarged chamber at the end of the mine. This species can be easily distinguished from P. vitigenella based on the presence of frass in the mine, and the fact that the pupation chamber of P. vitifoliella is not completed beneath a fold on the leaf margin. Chambers (1871) found numerous overwintering adults beneath the bark of hickories in Kentucky.

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

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Phyllocnistis vitifoliella is primarily found in the eastern US and Quebec, with a disjunct population in California. Population records are somewhat unreliable because of the similarity of this species with other white Phyllocnistis species. As of 2024, we have scattered records that include the Blue Ridge, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain.

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
Flight Comments: Chambers (1871) noted that the larvae mine grape leaves from May to October in Kentucky. As of 2024, we have records of adults beginning in late-April and early May, and records of occupied mines as late as early November. In North Carolina local populations presumably produce several broods per year.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Local populations are strongly associated with wild grapes, which appear to be the primary hosts. Grapes inhabit a variety of forest and edge habitats. Representative habitats include forest edges along roadways and trails, mature hardwood or mixed hardwood-pine forests, and floodplains where they often arch over trees and shrubs near the water's edge.

Larval Host Plants: The larvae feed on wild grapes (Muscadinia and Vitis spp.; Robinson et al., 2010; Eiseman, 2019). Some of the known hosts include Muscadine (Muscadinia rotundifolia), Summer Grape (V. aestivalis), Possum Grape (V. baileyana), Riverbank Grape (V. riparia) and Frost Grape (V. vulpina). Mines resembling those of P. vitifoliella have occasionally been found on the upper leaves of Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) but it is uncertain if these are indeed those of P. vitifoliella (Eiseman, 2019). In North Carolina, Muscadine is an important host in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont, while Vitis spp. are the primary hosts in the Blue Ridge. We have records for Muscadine, Possum Grape (Vitis baileyana), Frost Grape (V. vulpina), and Porcelain-berry (Ampelopsis glandulosa). - View

Observation Methods: We recommend looking for mines on the upper surfaces of grape leaves; photographs of individuals that are reared from mines are needed to better document phenotypes that occur in North Carolina.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Vitaceous Tangles

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S3S5

State Protection:

Comments: This species can be locally common where wild grapes abound within the state.

Photo Gallery for Phyllocnistis vitifoliella - None

93 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-11-09 Pender Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-10-22 Pender Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-18 Stanly Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-10-11 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-03 Anson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-03 Anson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-03 Robeson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-03 Robeson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-01 Hoke Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-24 New Hanover Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-23 Columbus Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-10 Bladen Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: F. Williams, S. Williams, P. Hart on 2025-05-09 Cumberland Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2025-05-03 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George on 2024-10-29 Onslow Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-20 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-26 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp on 2024-08-23 Edgecombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger and Donald Zepp on 2024-08-23 Nash Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2024-08-12 Pamlico Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Kevin Bischof on 2024-08-07 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-06 Mitchell Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-06 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-02 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-02 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-02 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-02 Craven Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-02 Jones Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-02 Lenoir Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-29 Rowan Co. Comment: