Chinquapin Leaf Miner Moth

Dyseriocrania griseocapitella (Walsingham)

Eriocrania griseocapitella Walsingham, 1898:162.—Kearfott 1902:129.—Forbes, 1923:66.

Eriocephala griseocapitella (Walsingham).—Dyar, 1902 [1903]: 581, no. 6619.—Kearfott, 1903:125, no. 7166.

Mnemonica griseocapitella (Walsingham).—Meyrick, 1912a: 19; 1912b:5.—Barnes and McDunnough, 1917:197, no. 8479.—McDunnough, 1939:110, no. 9854.

Mnemonica auricyanea Busck and Böving, 1914:151 [misidentification, not Walsingham, 1898].—Rohwer, 1914:141.—Mosher, 1916:35.—Forbes, 1923:65.—Crampton, 1920:33, 34.—Philpott, 1924:361; 1925:458; 1926:723.—Hinton, 1946: figures 10–12.—Muesebeck et al., 1951:329.—Gerasimov, 1952:92.—Friese, 1969:209.—Razowski, 1975a:5.

Eriocrania auricyanea (Busck and Böving).—Forbes, 1923:66.—Forbes, 1928:534, no. 8477.—Needham, Frost, and Tothill, 1928:72.—Shepard, 1930:243.

Dyseriocrania auricyanea (Busck and Böving).—Kristensen, 1968:242.—Opler, 1974:17.—Davis, 1975:10.

Epimartyria auricrinella Fracker, 1930:57 [misidentification, not Walsingham, 1898].

ADULT (Figure 166).—Wing Expanse: , 10–13 mm; , 9–12.5 mm.

Head: Vertex and frons covered with long, predominantly white hairs intermixed with fuscous. Antennae approximately 0.53–0.57 the length of forewing, 43- to 47-segmented; scape predominantly white, irrorated with fuscous; flagellum white beneath, fuscous above. Maxillary and labial palpi white, irrorated with fuscous. Maxillary palpi with apex of 5th segment naked except for 5–6 apical setae and 2–3 subapical setae; setae very short, length not exceeding 2.0 their width.

Thorax: Dorsum almost equally intermixed with elongate hairs and broader, appressed scales of white and fuscous. Venter white. Legs white ventrally, light fuscous dorsally, usually darker on prothoracic legs. Forewings golden bronze, heavily mottled with minute specks of darker scales which, under low magnification may appear iridescent bluish purple; forewings rather evenly mottled except for a small, pale subtornal spot usually present on hind margin; fringe bronzy brown. Hind wings paler, grayish with a slight purplish luster, sparsely covered with moderately broad scales.

Abdomen (Figures 56, 58–63, 220–221): Sparsely covered with long brownish hairs dorsally, whitish ventrally. Fourth sternite of female with fenestrae nearly equaling sternal tubercules in size, diameter approximately 0.5 the length of sternite; fenestrae absent in male. Fifth sternite of both sexes with a pair of large, reniform tubercules that are usually wider than long, length approximately 0.5 the length of sternite. Caudal margin of 8th sternite and tergite of female relatively indistinct, subtruncate, not deeply clefted.

Male Genitalia (Figures 255–256): Uncus shallowly bilobed; lobes reduced, widely separated. Anal tube membranous, with minute, scattered spines; basal sclerites absent. Vinculum with caudal margin superficially bilobed; anterior margin with apophyses elongate, approximately 0.75 the length of undivided vinculum. Juxta broadest anteriorly, tapering caudally to a narrow, minutely clefted apex; greatest width approximately 0.6–0.65 its length. Base of aedeagus prominently swollen; ventral branch of aedeagus very slender, simple, without any apical projections or basal lobes.


Female Genitalia (Figures 293–295, 333): Apex of ovipositor acuminate; lateral edges serrulate, with 10–12 minute teeth. Bursa copulatrix relatively elongate, extending noticeably beyond apices of anterior apophyses; walls of corpus bursae entirely membranous. Vaginal sclerite moderately broad, greatest width about 0.45–0.5 its length, depressed, not darkly sclerotized, and without ventral keel; general structure as shown in Figure 294.

LARVA (Figures 80–100).—Length of largest larva 10 mm; diameter 1.8 mm.

Head: Mostly pale brown to light yellow in color; adfrontal suture outlined in dark brown. Greatest width 0.6 mm; length 0.85 mm. Va variable in position, usually either laterad or posterior to V1. Pl very reduced in size, approximately equal to A2, usually separate from ecdysial line. A2 situated either slightly anterior or posterior to Pl. A1 absent. Labrum with all setae simple, acute; anterior margins of pilifers and epipharynx densely spinose; M3 arising much closer to M2 than to L3. Mandibles with an inner, median tuft of 12–18 elongate setae; each seta finely branched, appearing somewhat serrate.

Thorax: Pronotal and prosternal plates well developed, dark brown. Meso- and metathorax without sclerotized plates, whitish in color. L2 relatively well developed on meso- and metathorax, approximately equal to L1 in size. Subventral setae trisetose on prothorax.

Abdomen: Integument without pigmentation, usually whitish except for a pair of minute, longitudinal, brownish spots near lateroposterior margin of anal segment; barlike spots without enlarged cephalic end. L1 present on all segments, situated relatively high above SD1 and spiracles on I to VIII. SV2 absent in segment I, usually present on II, VII, and IX but variable. Segment IX with 10 pair of primary setae; both SD2 and SV2 present and well developed.

TYPE.—Holotype, ; in the British Museum (Natural History).

TYPE-LOCALITY.—Washington, D.C.

HOSTS.—Fagaceae: “chestnut [Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.]; chinquapin [Castanea pumila (L.) Mill.]; oak [Quercus species],” Busck and Böving (1914). Castanea mollissima Blume; Quercus alba L.; Quercus ?borealis (Michaux) Farw.; Q. ?falcata Michaux; Q. velutina Lamarck.

PARASITES.—Ichneumonidae: “Lathrolestes mnemonicae (Rohwer),” Rohwer (1914); near Tersilochus species.

FLIGHT PERIOD.—Late February to late May; univoltine.

DISTRIBUTION (Map 2).—This species ranges widely along the Atlantic states of North America from Nova Scotia south to northern Florida. It is known to occur as far westward as Michigan, Illinois, and Mississippi.

MATERIAL EXAMINED.—97 males, 154 females, and 41 larvae. CANADA. NOVA SCOTIA: Bridgewater: 1, 1 Jun (NSM). UNITED STATES. CONNECTICUT: New Haven Co: Bethany: 1, 19 May (USNM). Hamden: 1, 2 May (USNM). New Haven: 1, 5 May (USNM). Yale Preserve, New Haven: 4, 5, 18 Apr–9 May (USNM). West Rock Pk, New Haven: 2, 24 May (USNM). DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Washington: 1 (holotype, E. griseocapitella) (BMNH); 1, 1 (LACM); 1 4 larvae, 20 May (USNM); Ft Totten: 3 larvae, 15 May (USNM). FLORIDA: Alachua Co: San Felasco Hammock, 5 mi [8 km] SE Alachua: 1, 22 Feb (JBH). ILLINOIS: Palos Pk: 1, 25 Apr (USNM). MARYLAND: Montgomery Co: Forest Glen: 1, 2 May (USNM). Plummers Island: 4, 7 Apr (USNM). Prince Georges Co: Adelphi: 1, 2 May (USNM). MASSACHUSETTS: Barnstable Co: Barnstable: 1, 15 May (CPK). Franklin Co: Leverett: 1 (USNM). Norfolk Co: Cohasset: 1, 11 May (USNM). Suffolk Co: Forest Hills: 1, 1, 12 May (USNM). MICHIGAN: Allegan Co: T2N, R14W, Sec 7: 2, 23 May (LACM); 1, 23 May (USNM). MISSISSIPPI: Oktibbeha Co: Mississippi State Univ: 1, 25 May (BrM). NEW HAMPSHIRE: Rockingham Co: Hampton: 1, ? May (LACM); 1, 17 May (USNM). NEW JERSEY: Essex Co: 1, 1, 19 Apr (USNM). Essex Co Pk: 1, 1, 21 Apr–4 May (USNM). Ocean Co: Lakehurst: 1, 6 May (USNM). NEW YORK: Bronx: Bronx Pk: 1, 29 Apr (AMNH)). Tompkins Co: Dryden, Ringwood Reserve: 3, 8–15 May (USNM). Ithaca, Six Mile Ck: 15, 58, 7–15 May (USNM). Westchester Co: Pelham: 34, 68, 21–30 Apr (AMNH); 1, 1, 21–30 Apr (USNM). PENNSYLVANIA: Philadelphia Co: Mt. Airy (USNM). SOUTH CAROLINA: Berkeley Co: McClellanville, The Wedge: 1, 15 Apr (RBD); 13, 6, 17–22 Mar (USNM). VIRGINIA: Augusta Co: Staunton: 10 larvae, 22 May (USNM). Fairfax Co: Falls Church: 1, iss. 23 May (AMNH); 9, 8, iss. 9 Mar–3 Apr (USNM); 23 larvae, 9–18 May (USNM); Minor Hills, E Falls Church: 1 larva, 15 May (USNM).

MAP 2.—Distributions of Nearctic Dyseriocrania in the United States.

Dyseriocrania griseocapitella (Chinquapin leaf-miner) is a moth of the family Eriocraniidae. It is found from Nova Scotia to Florida, west to Illinois and Mississippi.

The wingspan is 10–13 mm for males and 9-12.5 mm for females. The forewings are golden bronze, heavily mottled with minute specks of darker scales. The hindwings are paler, grayish with a slight purplish luster, sparsely covered with moderately broad scales. The moth flies from late February to late May in one generation per year.

The larvae feed on Castanea and Quercus species. They mine the leaves of their host plant. The mine starts as a narrow, linear passage extending toward the leaf margin. This early stage of the mine is usually obliterated as the mine is enlarged. Immediately following the serpentine stage, the mine broadens to form a large, somewhat inflated blotch. Full-grown larvae drop to the ground and burrow into the soil. Here, they create a relatively tough oval cocoon of silk and small particles of soil. The larvae have a dark brown body and a pale brown to light yellow head.