Moths of North Carolina
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Stigmella Members:
5 NC Records

Stigmella tiliella (Braun, 1912) - No Common Name

Stigmella tiliella
view caption 		Stigmella tiliella
view caption 		Stigmella tiliella
Taxonomy
Family: NepticulidaeP3 Number: 16a0025 MONA Number: 98.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Newton and Wilkinson (1982) Technical Description, Immature Stages: Braun, 1917; Eiseman, 2022).                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This species is best distinguished by its white collar, white eye-cap, and dark forewing that has a white fringe and a single, pure-white fascia in the middle. The following detailed description is based on that of Braun (1917) and Newton and Wilkinson (1982). The palp is whitish and the antenna dark brown to black. Both the eye-cap and collar are shining white, while the tufts on the front of head and vertex are ocherous. The thorax and forewing ground color vary from dark-brown to black, and may exhibit bronze or gold reflections. The middle of the blackish wing has a shining pure white fascia that is slightly oblique and a little convex outwardly. The terminal fringe is shining white from the tornus to the costa and gray along the inner margin. The hindwing and cilia are gray.
Forewing Length: 3.2-4.0 mm (Newton and Wilkinson, 1982).
Adult Structural Features: Newton and Wilkinson (1982) provide detailed descriptions and illustrations of the male and female genitalia. They note that the genitalia have several diagnostic features that include the form of the uncus, transtillae, and comb-like cornuti of the male, along with the single ovate signum of the female that comprising whorls of hexagonal cells.

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae mine the leaves of American Basswood. Females lay their eggs on the upper leaf surface and the larvae produce linear, serpentine mines with angular turns. The mines often have a more-or-less spiral or looped shape, with either the early or later portion of the mine on the inside of the spiral or loop. Frass is deposited across the entire width of the mine except for the terminal fifth, where it forms a dense, central line. The mature larva pupates within an oval, reddish-brown cocoon (Braun, 1915; Eiseman, 2022). This is one of only two species of Stigmella that feed on American Basswood, with the other (S. argentifasciella) forming a distinct linear-blotch mine rather than a linear mine.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: The range is rather poorly defined, with the main range occurring from Ontario, Quebec, Ohio, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts southward to Kentucky, Tennessee and North Carolina. Isolated records are also known from Missouri, Louisiana and Minnesota.
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: Braun (1917) noted that two generations are produced annually in Kentucky and Ohio, with full-grown larvae present in early July and late-August.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations are commonly found in mesic hardwood forests that support the host plant.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae mine the leaves of American Basswood (Tilia americana; Eiseman, 2022). - View
Observation Methods: Local populations are best documented by searching for leaf mines on American Basswood. Photographs of the adults are needed, and we encourage individuals to rear the adults.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S2S3]
State Protection:
Comments: Stigmella tiliella appears to be uncommon in North Carolina, which in part might reflect it being under collected due to its rather inconspicuous leaf mines.

 Photo Gallery for Stigmella tiliella - No Common Name

Photos: 7

Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Kevin Bischof on 2024-08-07
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-08-18
Caswell Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-08-18
Caswell Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-07-08
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-07-08
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-07-08
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-07-08
Buncombe Co.
Comment: