Coleophoridae

Blastobasis glandulella Acorn

10 9 8 n=0 • 7 High Mt. • • 6 N 5 •• u 4 3 • • m 2 • • b 1 e 0 • • • r 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 NC counties: 15 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec • • o 10 • f 9 n=4 = Sighting or Collection 8 • 7 Low Mt. High counts of: in NC since 2001 F 6 l 5 3 - Warren - 2015-05-12 4 i 3 1 - Ashe - 2012-08-20 g 2 Status Rank h 1 1 - Orange - 2015-06-09 0 NC US NC Global t 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 D Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec a 10 10 9 9 t 8 n=15 8 n=9 e 7 Pd 7 CP s 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Three periods to each month: 1-10 / 11-20 / 21-31 FAMILY: Coleophoridae SUBFAMILY: Blastobasinae TRIBE: Blastobasini TAXONOMIC_COMMENTS:

FIELD GUIDE DESCRIPTIONS: Beadle and Leckie (2012); Leckie and Beadle (2018) ONLINE PHOTOS: TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION, ADULTS: Forbes (1923) TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION, IMMATURE STAGES: Galford (1986)

ID COMMENTS: The following is based in part on the description by Forbes (1923). The dorsum of the head and thorax are silvery gray to grayish brown. The antenna is grayish brown and deeply notched in the male. The forewing is light gray to light brown, and more or less powdered and mottled with different shades of silvery gray and light brown. The most conspicuous mark is a diffuse, pale to whitish band at about one-third the wing length. The band is usually sharply angled outward near the middle of the wing (sometimes less so), and is crisply outlined with a zone of dark brown to blackish scales on the posterior margin. These become more diffuse apically and end before reaching one-half the wing length. A small dark brown to blackish spot is often evident immediately behind the apex of the angle (chevron), but is frequently masked by the dark shading. There is a well-defined pair of small dark brown to blackish discal spots just beyond two-thirds the wing length, and a series of small dark dots on the wing tip that extends forward along the costal margin before fading out near the paired spots. In some individuals, the dark dots may be faint or completely missing. The hindwing and the fringe on both wings is light gray to grayish brown. Asaphocrita aphidiella is similar, but has more elongated, prominent palps and complex patterning on the apical third of the forewing.

DISTRIBUTION: Blastobasis glandulella is widespread in North America and is well-established in central Europe where it has been introduced. In the West, it occurs in California, Arizona, and Colorado. Farther east, it occurs in southern Canada (Quebec; Ontario; Manitoba; Saskatchewan), and throughout most of the eastern US from Maine to Florida, and westward to Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Minnesota. Populations in the West are in separate BINS (BOLD) and may constitute undescribed . We have records from all three physiographic provinces, but the majority are from the Piedmont.

FLIGHT COMMENT: The adults are active year-round in Florida and from March through October in other areas outside of North Carolina. As of 2021, our records are from early May through early September.

HABITAT: The larvae feed on acorns, and exploited before the widespread loss of mature trees due to blight. Local populations are found in a variety of hardwood forests or mixed hardwood-pine forests that support the host species.

FOOD: The primary hosts are oaks, including members of both the white oak and red oak groups. In the East, the larvae feed on acorns of White Oak (Quercus alba), Chestnut Oak (Q. montana), Northern Red Oak (Q. rubra), and Black Oak (Q. velutina) (Robinson et al., 2010; Gibson, 1982). Other species are undoubtedly used.

OBSERVATION_METHODS: The adults are attracted to lights and the larvae can be found by splltting open acorns.

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 appears to be common throughout its range, particularly in the Piedmont where oaks abound. March 2021 The of North Carolina - Early Draft 1