Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Gracillariidae Members:	Phyllonorycter Members:	31 NC Records

Phyllonorycter basistrigella (Clemens, 1859) - No Common Name

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Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Gracillarioidea

Family:
Gracillariidae

Subfamily:
Lithocolletinae

Tribe:
[Lithocolletini]

P3 Number:
33a0302

MONA Number:
738.00

Comments: Phyllonorycter is a genus of small and often colorful moths, with 79 described species in North America. The larvae of most form underside tentiform mines on woody plants and pupate within the mines.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Braun, 1908.

Adult Markings: The following description is based in part on that of Clemens (1859). The antenna and front of the head are silvery, and the tuft is fulvous with a mix of silvery scales. The thorax is pale reddish golden, with a white streak on each side and one in the middle. The ground color of the forewing is shining ocherous saffron. There is a slender, straight, and unmargined white basal streak in the central portion of the wing that extends from the base to about one-third to one-half of the wing length. A narrow white line runs along the costa from near the base of the wing posteriorly (often faint along the costa). The line deflects inward at about one-half where it approaches a matching dorsal line that also extends from near the base and deflects inward. Posterior to where the costal and dorsal lines converge, there are typically three short white costal streaks and two dorsal streaks. The three costal streaks are aligned roughly perpendicular to the costa and are typically edged with dark scales on the anterior side. The first two are opposed and paired with two similar dorsal streaks. The first at the tornus is relatively large and triangular-shaped, while the second is greatly reduced in size and sometimes missing. This species lack an apical spot, but typically has a region of dark scales near the apex that extends forward to the apical and dorsal streaks to varying degrees (sometimes represented as two large patches). The cilia are pale fulvous with a blackish marginal line that is sometimes obscure or missing. The hindwing is gray, with cilia that are gray with a fulvous hue.

Wingspan: 8 mm (Braun, 1908).

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: The larvae mine the undersides of oak leaves. A larva typically produces an oblong to rectangular-shaped mine between two veins. The mine surface is smooth and unwrinkled, and the larva deposits frass along the edges of the mine. At the time of pupation, the frass is collected from the edges and made into an oval ring-like wall around the cocoon (Eiseman, 2019). The cuticle is transparent and the pupa is plainly visible through the epidermis (Braun, 1908; Eiseman, 2019).

Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Phyllonorycter basistrigella is widely distributed across Canada, the eastern US, and as far west as California. Populations in the western US may represent an undescribed species. In eastern North America, this species occurs in southern Canada and throughout much of the eastern US from the Great Lakes region eastward to Maine and southward to North Carolina. We have records from all three physiographic provinces in North Carolina, although this species appears to be relatively rare in 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) 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: Local populations appear to have at least two broods each year. As of 2023, we have records from mid-March through late-September.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: This species specializes on oaks and exploits members of both the white oak and red oak group. Populations occur in a wide variety of urban and natural habitats that support the host species. Examples include urban neighborhoods and parks, wet to dry hardwood forests, and mixed hardwood-pine forests.

Larval Host Plants: Host species that occur in eastern North America (Eiseman, 2019) include White Oak (Q. alba), Swamp White Oak (Q. bicolor), Scarlet Oak (Q. coccinea), Shingle Oak (Q. imbricaria), Bur Oak (Q. macrocarpa), Swamp Chestnut Oak (Q. michauxii), Chestnut Oak (Q. montana), Dwarf Chinquapin Oak (Q. prinoides), Northern Red Oak (Q. rubra), Post Oak (Q. stellata), and Black Oak (Q. velutina). As of 2023, we have records of this species using White Oak, Chestnut Oak, Swamp Chestnut Oak, and Northern Red Oak in North Carolina. - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and have been successfully reared from leaf mines with mature larvae or pupae.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Oak-Hickory Forests

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S3S4

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

Comments: North Carolina appears to be at or near the southern limit of the range. We currently do not have sufficient information on the distribution and abundance of this species within the state as assess its conservation status.

Photo Gallery for Phyllonorycter basistrigella - None

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

	Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-08-07 Orange Co. Comment: A reared adult from Quercus rubra.		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-08-07 Orange Co. Comment: A reared adult from Quercus rubra.
	Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-08-03 Orange Co. Comment: Mine containing pupa was found on Northern Red Oak, Quercus rubra. Adult eclosed four days later on 8/7/2024 and was submitted as a separate record (ee companion photos of the adult from 2024-08-07).		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-08-03 Orange Co. Comment: Mine containing pupa was found on Northern Red Oak, Quercus rubra. Adult eclosed four days later on 8/7/2024 and was submitted as a separate record (ee companion photos of the adult from 2024-08-07)
	Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2024-07-30 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Stephen Dunn on 2024-06-29 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-06-08 Mecklenburg Co. Comment: An adult that was reared from a blotch mine on a Quercus alba leaf collected on 6/1/24 and kept outdoors in the interim (see companion photo of the mine).		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2024-06-01 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-06-01 Mecklenburg Co. Comment: A blotch mine on a Quercus alba leaf collected on 6/1/24 and kept outdoors in the interim (see companion photo of the adult that emerged on 2024-06-08).		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-06-01 Mecklenburg Co. Comment: A blotch mine on a Quercus alba leaf collected on 6/1/24 and kept outdoors in the interim (see companion photo of the adult that emerged on 2024-06-08).
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-06-01 Mecklenburg Co. Comment: A blotch mine on a Quercus alba leaf collected on 6/1/24 and kept outdoors in the interim (see companion photo of the adult that emerged on 2024-06-08).		Recorded by: David George, Tracy Feldman on 2024-05-21 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Tracy Feldman on 2024-05-21 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2024-05-20 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2024-05-20 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-12-29 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-12-29 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-12-29 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-11-17 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-11-17 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George on 2023-10-16 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-08-10 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-08-10 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-21 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-21 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-03-18 Rutherford Co. Comment: Adult was reared from Chestnut Oak; mine on Oct 21, 2022; adult on March 18, 2023 after overwintering in refrigerator.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-10-21 Rutherford Co. Comment: Occupied mines were on Chestnut Oak.		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-10-21 Rutherford Co. Comment: A larva that is in the process of gathering frass to form a pupation chamber.
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-10-21 Rutherford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-08-25 Clay Co. Comment: