Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFAmphisbatidae Members: 75 NC Records

Machimia tentoriferella Clemens, 1860 - Gold-striped Leaftier Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Gelechioidea Family: AmphisbatidaeSubfamily: [Amphisbatinae]Tribe: [Amphisbatini]P3 Number: 420257.00 MONA Number: 951.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is primarily based on that of Clarke (1941). The labial palp is pale yellowish white, and the second segment is strongly suffused with blackish fuscous exteriorly on the basal half. The third segment is inwardly speckled with blackish fuscous on the basal third. The antenna is ochreous and annulated with fuscous, while the head is pale whitish ochreous. The thorax and forewing are reddish ochreous and sparsely specked with blackish fuscous. The thorax has a patch of black scales at the posterior tip, and the forewing has three prominent blackish-fuscous spots. Two are at the beginning and end of the cell, and the third is equidistant between these two, closer to the inner margin, and more diffuse. At about two-thirds the wing length, a blackish-fuscous line of scales extends from the costa posteriorly for a short distance. It then sharply angles back towards the inner margin while roughly paralleling the curvature of the termen. A series of small, blackish-fuscous spots extends from near the end of the costa around the termen and onto the inner margin for a short distance. The cilia of the forewing are ochreous. The hindwing is fuscous with a reddish cast and the cilia are ochreous with a fuscous sub-basal band. The legs are ochreous and heavily overlaid with fuscous, except at the joints. The abdomen is ochreous and speckled and suffused with blackish fuscous. This is a distinctive species that is best distinguished by the broadly curved wings with angulated tips, the three prominent blackish-fuscous spots on the forewing, and the black patch of scales near the posterior tip of the thorax. The blackish-fuscous line in the post-median region that angles back towards the inner margin is often faint in worn specimens.
Wingspan: 19-28 mm (Clarke, 1941).
Adult Structural Features: Clarke (1941) provides detailed descriptions and illustrations of the male and female genitalia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae are polyphagous and feed on hardwoods. Unlike Psilocorsis species, the larva lacks a punctate head and is green with two faint longitudinal whitish bands (Marquis et al. 2019). The larvae reside within shelters that consist of either leaves that are tied together, or a single leaf that is partially folded or rolled. Each larva makes a flat surface web on the underside of a leaf that is open at either end and slightly raised to produce a domed retreat. Early instars skeletonize the leaf at the head end of the web, but later instars feed outside of the retreat and eat the whole leaf. When disturbed, the larva wriggles backward to escape and drops through the rear slit in the web (Marquis et al. 2019). Pupation occurs within the shelter or under the folded edge of a leaf (Forbes, 1923; Baker, 1972; Marquis et al. 2019). In Missouri the larvae are found during June and July and pupation occurs in a folded leaf during July and August (Marquis et al. 2019).

Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Machimia tentoriferella is found primarily in eastern North America, including much of extreme southern Canada and much of the eastern US., except for the southeastern Coastal Plain where it is rare. Isolated populations have been found in California, Colorado and Texas that may be introductions.
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
Flight Comments: Local populations appear to be univoltine. Adults have been recorded from April through December in different parts of the range, with a peak from August through October. As of 2020, our records are from late July to early November, with a seasonal peak in September and October.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Populations are dependent on hardwoods as a food source. They occur in a variety of habitats ranging from wooded residential neigborhoods to hardwood and mixed pine-hardwood forests.
Larval Host Plants: The larvae are highly polyphagous and feed on numerous hardwoods (Baker, 1972; Clarke, 1941; Robinson et al., 2010). The known hosts include dogwoods, birches, ashes, maples, oaks, chestnuts, hickories, walnuts, elms, apples, wild cherries, hawthorns, basswoods, beeches, honey locust, mountain ash, buttonbush, witch-hazels, viburnums and lilac.
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Hardwood Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S4S5
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This is a common and widespread species that is apparently secure in the state.

 Photo Gallery for Machimia tentoriferella - Gold-striped Leaftier Moth

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

Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2021-10-22
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2021-10-22
Orange Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-10-21
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2021-10-15
Orange Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-10-12
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-10-08
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2021-10-08
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2021-10-08
Orange Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-10-05
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-09-26
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-09-19
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2021-09-13
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-09-12
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2020-11-10
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2020-11-07
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-11-05
Guilford Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2020-10-22
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2020-10-21
Orange Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-10-21
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2020-10-15
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2020-10-14
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2020-10-13
Cabarrus Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-10-11
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2020-10-09
Yancey Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2020-10-08
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-10-06
Guilford Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2020-10-04
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-09-30
Guilford Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-09-30
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-09-23
Madison Co.
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