Moths of North Carolina
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6 NC Records

Eucosma alabamae Wright & Gilligan, 2015 - No Common Name

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: OlethreutinaeTribe: EucosminiP3 Number: 620793.00 MONA Number: 3005.30
Comments: Eucosma alabamae is a member of the griseocapitana species group of Wright and Gilligan (2015), which consists of five species that are generally similar in forewing appearance and genitalia. Eucosma argutipunctana is the only other member of the group that is known to occur in North Carolina.
Species Status: Wright and Gilligan (2015) noted that North Carolina specimens deviate somewhat from the type series from Alabama, but are currently treating the North Carolina material as E. alabamae.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Wright and Gilligan (2015)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following is based on the original description by Wright and Gilligan (2015) The frons, vertex, and antennae are white, and the labial palps are mostly white with some gray-brown speckling. The dorsal surface of the forewing is rusty brown with a variably expressed, white, subcostal band from the base to the apex that is interrupted near the mid-costa by a brown outwardly oblique bar that represents the median fascia. The white coloration often infiltrates the proximal half of the forewing and produces transverse reticulations. A sub-basal fascia is sometimes discernable as a slightly darker shade from the inner margin to the radius. The ocellus is conspicuous and has lustrous white bars at the proximal and distal margins, along with a pale central field that has up to three small black dashes. The costal strigulae are white and interspersed among thin black dashes. The termen has a salt and-pepper-colored band from the tornus to the apex, and the fringe is mostly white, but becomes blackish gray towards the apex. The hindwing is blackish gray, and the legs are mostly white with blackish-brown annulations on the tarsi. Wright and Gilligan (2015) noted that North Carolina specimens that they examined deviate from the description above in lacking the salt and-pepper-colored band on the termen and in being paler.
Forewing Length: 6.1-7.3 mm (mean = 6.7 mm) for males; 6.0-8.1 mm (mean = 7.3 mm) for females (Wright and Gilligan, 2015).
Adult Structural Features: Wright and Gilligan (2015) provide a general description of the genitalia of members of the griseocapitana species group as follows. In males, the uncus is moderately developed and the dorsolateral shoulders of the tegumen are slightly hunched. The valva has a concave costal margin, with the ventral emargination moderate and the saccular corner angulate. The cucullus has the dorsal lobe strongly developed and the apex rounded. The distal margin is convex and of nearly uniform curvature, while the anal angle is weakly to moderately developed and narrowly rounded. They noted that E. alabamae males have 30-42 cornuti and a valval neck that widens slightly toward the cucullus. The cucullus has an apex that is slightly broader than the anal angle, and a distal margin that is convex and of nearly uniform curvature.

In females, the papillae anales of this and other members of the griseocapitana species group are moderately setose and microtrichiate, while the lamella postvaginalis is rectangular and microtrichiate. The lateral extremities of sternum 7 are strongly developed and pointed (except in E. linitipunctana), and the scaling of sternum 7 is dense on the posterior lobes and lateral extremities. The ductus bursae has a sclerotized ring at its juncture with the ductus seminalis, and the corpus bursae has signa that are nearly equal in size. In females of E. alabamae, the dorsal surface of tergum 8 is scaleless and has two bands of moderately long setae -- one along the posterior margin and the other midway between the posterior and anterior margins. Sternum 7 also has well-developed triangular lateral extremities (Wright and Gilligan, 2015).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larval life history is undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: The known distribution appears to be highly fragmented, with specimens known from the Gulf Coast south of Mobile, Alabama, from Fort Macon State Park in Carteret Co., North Carolina, and from Worcester Co., Maryland.
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
Flight Comments: Local populations are univoltine, with the adults flying in October in Alabama, and mostly in September and October farther north. As of 2022, we have records from late-August through early October.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations are associated with dune and maritime grasslands/scrub communities on barrier islands.
Larval Host Plants: The host are undocumented. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Maritime Dune Grass and Forblands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: [GNR] S1S3
State Protection:
Comments: This species appears to be rare throughout its range, although it can be locally abundant. The population on Atlantic Beach and in Fort Macon State Park is the only known one in North Carolina as of 2022.

 Photo Gallery for Eucosma alabamae - No common name

Photos: 4

Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-04-29
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-10-08
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-10-10
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 2019-08-28
Carteret Co.
Comment: