Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFDepressariidae Members: Agonopterix Members: 10 NC Records

Agonopterix lythrella (Walsingham, 1889) - Red Agonopterix

Agonopterix lythrella
view caption 		Agonopterix lythrella
view caption 		Agonopterix lythrella
view caption 		Agonopterix lythrella
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Gelechioidea		 Family:
Depressariidae		Subfamily:
Depressariinae		Tribe:
[Depressariini]		P3 Number:
59a0069		 MONA Number:
857.00
Comments: Agonopterix is a large holarctic genus with more than 125 species, with most occurring in the Palearctic Region. Currently, there are 47 recognized species in North America. Our species are largely confined to the western mountains.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie, 2012Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Hodges, 1974                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following is based on the descriptions by Ely (1910), Clarke (1941), and Hodges (1974). The head, antenna, and thorax are light brown, and the thorax has a lateral dark streak that is usually evident. The labial palp is yellowish and mottled exteriorly with purplish fuscous. The third segment has an indistinct fuscous annulus at the base and just below the tip. Fresh specimens are intense reddish brown with a heavy reddish brown overlay on parts of the wing, particularly away from the costal margin where there are a series of faint lighter strigulae. Older specimens are grayish brown. A dark, curved streak is present on the cell beginning at about one-third the wing length, with a small white dot just beyond it that is often faint or missing. Varying levels of cream to whitish dusting is often present just posteriorly and laterally from the streak. Additional whitish dusting occurs in the post-median region, along the costa, and at the base of the wing where the scales are better organized and form a narrow transverse band that is preceded at the inner angle by a distinct black spot. The cilia are purplish gray with a narrow blackish fuscous line at the base. The tarsi usually have a distinctive color pattern with the first segment dark with a pale apex, the second, third, and base of the fourth segments dark brown, and the apex of the fourth and all of the fifth segment pale (Hodges, 1974). In some individuals the first segment may be nearly unicolorous, and the bases of the scales on the second and third segments may be pale. Agonopterix hyperella is similar but the forewing is gray to grayish brown and has a longer and broader curved streak. Agonopterix walsinghamella is also similar, but has grayish scales on the top of the thorax and head (versus light brown in A. lythrella). In addition, the curved streak is typically reduced to two spots.
Wingspan: 13-18 mm (Clarke, 1941)
Forewing Length: 5.5-8.0 mm (Hodges, 1974)
Adult Structural Features: Clarke (1941) note that the male genitalia of this species are nearly identical with those of several other Agonopterix. The clasper of the harpe, however, is much more slender than that of any of the other species. In the females A. hyperella lacks a signum, whereas one is present in A. lythrella.
Genitalia and other structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Very little is known about the larval life history and ecology other than the host plants (see below).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Agonopterix lythrella is found in eastern North America, including much of southern Canada from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick westward to Ontario. In the US it occurs in the northeastern states westward to Illinois and Wisconsin, then southward along the Appalachian Mountains to western NC. As of 2020, all of our records are from the mountains, and from sites that range from the low valleys to the highest peak.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Agonopterix lythrellaAlamance 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 Hanover 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.