Moths of North Carolina
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Porphyrosela Members:
39 NC Records

Porphyrosela minuta Clarke, 1953 - No Common Name

Porphyrosela minuta
view caption 		Porphyrosela minutaPorphyrosela minutaPorphyrosela minuta
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Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Gracillarioidea		 Family:
Gracillariidae		Subfamily:
Lithocolletinae		P3 Number:
33a0367		 MONA Number:
843.10
Comments: Porphyrosela is a genus of small leaf-mining moths that feed on legumes. There are 12 described species that occur worldwide, including in North and South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Bentancourt and Scatoni, 2007.Technical Description, Immature Stages: Bentancourt and Scatoni, 2007; Eiseman et al., 2017.                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following is based on the detailed description of adults by Bentancourt and Scatoni (2007). The head has erect brown hair-scales on the vertex, while the forehead is silvery white with flat scales. The antenna is slightly shorter than the forewing and is black, except for the last eight or nine segments that are white. The thorax is silvery white on the dorsal side. The ground color of the forewing is orange with brown metallic highlights, and is overlain with several silvery white streaks with black scales on both margins. The first streak is posteriorly oblique and occurs at about one-third the wing length. It extends from the costal margin to near the dorsal margin. In some specimens it may continue to the dorsal margin to form a complete fascia. A similar streak or fascia runs obliquely in the opposite direction near the middle of the wing. Near the apex there are two silvery white patches with black margins. One is a small, triangular-shaped mark on the dorsal margin at the beginning of the fringe. Just posterior and opposite to this, there is a short, anteriorly oblique streak that extends into the fringe. The fringe has a conspicuous black line that extends obliquely from the dorsal margin towards the apex. The hindwing is narrowly lanceolate and brown with a fringe of long hair around the edges. The legs have a mixture of dark coloration with silver or copper highlights. The abdomen has copper highlights, and the fourth, fifth and seventh ventral segments are silvery white.

This species closely resembles P. desmodiella. Eiseman et al. (2017) noted that when P. desmodiella is viewed laterally, the second fascia is approximately perpendicular with the wing margins, and bends somewhat so that it parallels the first fascia toward the costal margin. The space between the fascias along the costal margin is approximately 20–30% larger than on the dorsal margin. In P. minuta, the first and second fascias are angled equally but in opposite directions, such that the space between them on the costal margin is about twice that on the dorsal margin. The two are further distinguished by the absence of the black terminal line of the forewing of P. desmodiella.
Wingspan: 4-6 mm (Bentancourt and Scatoni, 2007).
Forewing Length: 2.2 -2.7 mm (Bentancourt and Scatoni, 2007).
Adult Structural Features: Clarke (1953) noted that the genitalia of P. desmodiella and P. minuta are similar, but that P. minuta can be distinguished from S. desmodiella by the hooked aedeagus, blunt cucullus, and the sclerotized posterior portion of the ductus bursae.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Females lay eggs singly on the upper leaf surface of clover, and the hatchlings and subsequent instars produce a conspicuous white blotch on the upper leaf surface. The larvae feed on sap during the first three instars, and ingest solid particles in the last two. The mine is an irregular white blotch that is approximately 7-9 mm wide and 10-12 mm long. The upper epidermis eventually becomes wrinkled and the leaflet bends upward (Bentancourt and Scatoni, 2007; Eiseman et al., 2017). Pupation occurs within the mine and the pupal exuviae protrude from the mine upon adult emergence. The older, mature mines of P. minuta are easily distinguished from those of other North American clover-mining insects by the wrinkled upper epidermis (Eiseman et al., 2017). Individual clover leaves often have a mine on each leaflet, and in some cases two or more mines per leaflet.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Porphyrosela minuta is native to southern South America and only recent arrived in the United States around 2008 (Eiseman et al., 2017). It has since become widespread in the eastern United States and California. In the East, it occurs from New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania to as far south as southern Florida, and as far west as central Oklahoma and eastern Texas. It occurs statewide in North Carolina.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Porphyrosela minuta
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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