Moths of North Carolina
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30 NC Records

Clepsis melaleucanus (Walker, 1863) - Black-patched Clepsis Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Tortricoidea Family: TortricidaeSubfamily: TortricinaeTribe: ArchipiniP3 Number: 620362.00 MONA Number: 3686.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Freeman (1958)Technical Description, Immature Stages: MacKay (1962)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is based primarily on that of Freeman (1958). The head, palps, and thorax are light brown to brownish-orange. The forewing ground is creamy-white and is overlain by several darker patches. The patches typically have a light fawn margin and a darker orangish-brown center with small metallic bluish to pearly gray streaks within. The patches include a basal one that covers the first one-third of the wing, a large, oblong or rounded patch on the inner margin near the tornus that extends inward past the middle of the wing, and a subapical costal patch at about four-fifths. All three patches are usually separated from adjoining patches by a gap with whitish to whitish-brown scales. The apical portion of wing and the fringe are whitish or slightly ocherous. The hindwing is fuscous with white along the costa, and the fringe is whitish with a dark basal line. The basal third of the costa is orangish-brown in males and creamy-white in females. Males also have an extremely long costal fold that gradually tapers to a point slightly beyond the center of the costa.
Wingspan: 19-22 mm for males and 22-25 mm for females (Freeman, 1958)
Forewing Length: 8.5-11.0 mm (Gilligan and Epstein, 2014; TortID)
Adult Structural Features: Gilligan and Epstein (2014; TortID) and Freeman (1958) has descriptions and illustrations of the male and female genitalia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Freeman (1958) noted that the larvae tie together the leaves of the food plants but details of the larval life history are largely unreported. Chapman and Lienk (1971) found late-instar larvae in New York on apples and mayapples in May and June before the adults emerged, and surmised that the larvae overwinter as penultimate larvae on the ground. Populations appear to be univoltine throughout the range.

Last instar larvae are 14-19 mm long with a pale green body. The pinacula are lighter than the body color and have dark setae. The head is yellowish brown, the prothoracic shield is pale green with dark shading on the posterolateral corners, and the thoracic legs are pale (Gilligan and Epstein, 2014; TortID).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Clepsis melaleucanus is found in southern Canada from Alberta eastward to Nova Scotia, and in the eastern US from the New England states westward through the Great Lakes region to Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, and southward to Indiana, Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, northern Georgia, western Virginia and Maryland. As of 2023, all of our records are from the Blue Ridge Mountains.
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: The adults have been observed from April through August in different areas of the range, with a seasonal peak in most areas in May and June. As of 2023, our records extend from late April through mid-June.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Local populations are commonly found in mesic hardwood forests or forest edges.
Larval Host Plants: The larvae are polyphagus and use both hardwoods and herbaceous plants (Freeman, 1958; Chapman and Lienk, 1971; Gilligan and Epstein, 2014; TortID). The reported hosts include cohosh (Caulophyllum), Green Alder (Alnus crispa), birch (Betula), commercial apples (Malus domestica), wintergreen (Pyrola), witch-hazel (Hamamelis), Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum), Solomon's seal (Polygonatum), trilliums (Trillium), and meadowsweet (Spiraea). - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and can often be seen perched on low-lying vegetation in mesic forests.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S4S5
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species is common in the Blue Ridge and shows no evidence of precipitous population declines.

 Photo Gallery for Clepsis melaleucanus - Black-patched Clepsis Moth

Photos: 28

Recorded by: David George, Ed Corey on 2023-06-17
Avery Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Ed Corey on 2023-06-17
Avery Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-05-25
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2023-05-22
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-06-07
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2022-05-27
Yancey Co.
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Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2022-05-27
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-05-17
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-05-03
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2021-05-29
Yancey Co.
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Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2021-05-29
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2021-05-16
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-05-15
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-05-04
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-05-02
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-06-09
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-05-16
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-05-16
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-07
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-05-27
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-05-27
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-05-20
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-05-07
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-05-07
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-05-18
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-05-18
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: B. Bockhahn, P. Scharf, K. Kittelberger on 2015-06-18
Avery Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2011-04-30
Buncombe Co.
Comment: