Parornix quadripunctella - Parornix dubitella

Moved

Moved from Parornix quadripunctella.

Steven Whitebread says:
"I think your 'P. quadripunctella' on Bugguide is actually P. dubitella. The two species are almost identical, but the palpi of dubitella are usually (but not always) dark. I have reared dubitella from chokeberry, but what I now know is quadripunctella I have only reared from apple, P. dubitella is extremely common and goes on many different hosts, but I have only found quadripunctella at Burrage WMA on Malus sieboldii (I have also found dubitella on this host)."

I'll try to confirm by dissection, once I get more confident with that!

… Charley Eiseman, 3 March, 2022 - 10:25am

Confirmed

I finally got around to dissecting this specimen, and it is in fact dubitella--which may actually be the same species that Clemens originally described as quadripunctella (based only on larvae; he did not rear adults), and may or may not be the same species that Dietz later decided was quadripunctella.

… Charley Eiseman, 9 March, 2025 - 10:14am

Moved

Moved from Parornix arbutifoliella.
Now that I've spent some more time staring at these, I think this is a better match, and this is where the key takes me. It happens to be the only other species that has been reared from chokeberry. Where I went wrong in the key before was in misinterpreting where the third palpal joint starts. Notice that these palps are mostly dark, whereas the ones in John Lee's photo are entirely pale.

… Charley Eiseman, 10 April, 2015 - 12:14pm

Boy they all do really look alike, don't they!

Not many identified images on MPG and the one that is looks the same!

… john and jane balaban, 3 December, 2014 - 9:47pm

That one falls right next to arbutifoliella in the key

The difference is that in arbutifoliella, the fifth costal stria from the tip is supposed to be prolonged to the dorsal margin. While that isn't exactly the case with my moth, it does have a dark dorsal smudge that John Lee's moth doesn't have. Since P. obliterella feeds on river birch, I decided that smudge counted!

… Charley Eiseman, 4 December, 2014 - 9:27am