Moths of North Carolina
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Phyllocnistis Members:
73 NC Records

Phyllocnistis vitegenella Clemens, 1859 - No Common Name


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Gracillarioidea Family: GracillariidaeSubfamily: PhyllocnistinaeTribe: [Phyllocnistini]P3 Number: 330408.00 MONA Number: 853.00
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 Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Chambers (1871)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Chambers (1871)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: In this species, the head and thorax are glistening snowy white, while the antenna is dark above. 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. An elongated dorsal spot is present on the dorsal margin just posterior to the base. Near the middle of the wing there is a narrow, oblique, blackish costal streak. Just behind it is a small, narrow blackish streak that is less oblique and opposes a similar small dorsal streak. These tend to meet to form a narrow, dark fascia (sometimes incomplete). There is a conspicuous circular black spot at the wing tip. Just anterior to this there are two relatively straight black costal streaks. At the tip of the wing are three blackish diverging streaks or thin lines in the cilia that tend to converge towards the apical spot. Finally, a blackish marginal line arches forward from near 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 this species 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 long, linear superficial mines on the upper surfaces of leaves. The mines are restricted to the cuticle and epidermis and lack frass. They have a glistening whitish or greenish shine that resembles the tracks of snails, and they often parallel the mid-vein or lateral veins of leaves during at least some of their length. Sections of a mine often loop back on themselves as the larva feeds parallel to a vein, then crosses the vein and feeds in a parallel fashion in the opposite direction. Pupation typically occurs beneath a small folded edge of the leaf margin, but pupation chambers are occasionally produced away from the leaf margin.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Phyllocnistis vitegenella is found in eastern North America, and appears to have been introduced in the West based on disjunct populations in in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Oregon. In the East, populations occur in Ontario, Quebec, and throughout much of the eastern US to as far south as Florida, the Gulf Coast, and eastern Texas. As of 2024, we have records that range from the lower elevations in the mountains to the 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)

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