Moths of North Carolina

Scientific Name:	Common Name:		Family (Alpha):

View PDF	Gracillariidae Members:	Cameraria Members:	13 NC Records
Cameraria aesculisella (Chambers, 1871) - No Common Name

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Taxonomy

Superfamily: Gracillarioidea	Family: Gracillariidae	Subfamily: Lithocolletinae	Tribe: [Lithocolletini]	P3 Number: 33a0221	MONA Number: 804.00
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, BOLD	Technical Description, Adults: Braun, 1908.
Adult Markings: The following description of the adults is based on Braun (1908). The antennae are whitish and banded above with dark brown. The face and palpi are white. The tuft is ocherous towards the front, but whitish towards the rear. The thorax and forewings are reddish ocherous. A whitish streak on each side of the thorax is continuous with a short, whitish streak on the forewings. There are two white fasciae with dark margins on the posterior edge. The second is near the middle of the wing and is indistinctly obtusely angled near the costa. The first fascia is half way between the second and the base of the wing, and is broken near the costa. Its dorsal arm is more oblique and diverges from the second fascia. At the beginning of the cilia is a small costal spot, and opposite it a longer almost perpendicular dorsal streak. These both have black margins posteriorly. Black dusting of varying intensity occurs near the apex, and is edged internally by an oblique white streak that sometimes unites or almost unites with the dorsal streak. The cilia are ocherous, with a slightly darker line through their middle. The hindwings and cilia are gray with an ocherous tinge, and the abdomen is gray with an ocherous tuft. The front and middle legs are white with black banding on the tarsi, while the rear legs are white with one or two joints faintly tipped with black. Traits that can be used to distinguish Cameraria aesculisella from similar species include the first fascia, which is interrupted near the costa, the white streak on each side of the thorax that is continuous with the streak on the forewing, the whitish head tuft, and the whitish rear legs that contrast with the boldly patterned front and middle legs.
Wingspan: 8-9 mm (Braun, 1908).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae produce broad, flat, upper-surface blotch mines on the leaflets of buckeyes. The mines generally tend to be broadly linear, but sometimes have one or more shorter bulges from the main track. The mine can sometimes contain as many as five or six larvae, and the frass is deposited towards the center of the mine to produce a broad track (Braun, 1908). Populations appear to be univoltine. The larvae overwinter in the mines, then pupate with the spring warm-up. The adults emerge in June or July in Ohio and vicinity, and the mature larvae remain in the mines from August until the following spring (Braun, 1908).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.

Distribution in North Carolina


Distribution: Cameraria aesculisella is patchily distributed in the eastern US. It is currently known from Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania southward to North Carolina, Florida and Louisiana. As of 2024, we have records from the Blue Ridge and the eastern Piedmont.
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: Populations appear to be univoltine, with the adults active primarily in June and July in Ohio and vicinity. The adults emerge as early as mid-May in North Carolina based on a collected adult.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: The larvae feed on Buckeyes (Aesculus spp.), which are generally associated with rich hardwood forests, including riparian zones and mesic slopes.

Larval Host Plants: The known hosts include Yellow Buckeye (A. flava), Ohio Buckeye (A. glabra), Red Buckeye (A. pavia) and Painted Buckeye (A. sylvatica; Eiseman, 2019; Robinson et al., 2010). As of 2024, we have host records for Yellow Buckeye and Painted Buckeye in North Carolina. - View

Observation Methods: The adults appear to rarely visit lights. Records are best obtained by searching for the leaf mines in June and July and rearing the adults. Mines with overwintering larvae can also be found at other times of the year.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for Rich Wet-Mesic Hardwood Forests

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S2S3

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments:

Cameraria aesculisella (Chambers, 1871) - No Common Name

Photo Gallery for Cameraria aesculisella - None

Photos: 28

Photo Gallery for Cameraria aesculisella - None		Photos: 28
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Stephen Dunn, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-28 Chatham Co. Comment: A reared adult from a mine on Aesculus sylvatica.	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Stephen Dunn, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-28 Chatham Co. Comment: A reared adult from a mine on Aesculus sylvatica.
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Stephen Dunn, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-22 Chatham Co. Comment: An occupied mine on Aesculus sylvatica. Likely in the pupal stage when found, adult emerged 6 days later (see companion photo from 2024-06-28).	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-10 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-10 Chatham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and John Petranka on 2023-03-26 Watauga Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and John Petranka on 2022-08-09 Watauga Co. Comment: Occupied mines were on Yellow Buckeye.	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and John Petranka on 2022-08-09 Watauga Co. Comment: An occupied mine on Yellow Buckeye.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and John Petranka on 2022-08-09 Watauga Co. Comment: A backlit image of an occupied mine on Yellow Buckeye. note the nidus and larva in the center.	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2022-07-08 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2022-07-08 Durham Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2022-07-08 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-07-24 Swain Co. Comment: An adult that was reared from a communal mine on Yellow Buckeye (see companion photo of the mine from 2021-07-06).	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-07-24 Swain Co. Comment: An adult that was reared from a communal mine on Yellow Buckeye (see companion photo of the mine from 2021-07-06).
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-07-06 Madison Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-07-06 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-07-06 Swain Co. Comment: Unoccupied mine was on Yellow Buckeye.	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-07-06 Swain Co. Comment: Unoccupied mine was on Yellow Buckeye.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-07-06 Swain Co. Comment: An occupied mine with three larvae that was on Yellow Buckeye.	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-07-06 Swain Co. Comment: A backlit image of an occupied mine with three larvae.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-08-10 Buncombe Co. Comment: An occupied upper-surface mine on Yellow Buckeye.	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-08-10 Buncombe Co. Comment: A backlit image of an occupied upper-surface mine on Yellow Buckeye. Note the larva near the top of the image and the scattered frass.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-08-10 Buncombe Co. Comment: An occupied upper-surface mine on Yellow Buckeye.	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-05-16 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-05-16 Madison Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2018-07-05 Wake Co. Comment: An upper-surface blotch mine on Aesculus sylvatica.
	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2018-07-05 Wake Co. Comment: A view of the underside of a leaf of Aesculus sylvatica with an upper-surface blotch mine (see companion photo of upper leaf surface).	Recorded by: Tracy S. Feldman on 2018-07-05 Wake Co. Comment: