Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Vitula edmandsii (Packard, 1864)
Nephopteryx [sic] edmandsii Packard, 1864
Vitula dentosella Ragonot, 1887
Vitula edmandsae Heinrich, 1956 emendation
Identification
Adult: Distinctive blue-grey FW ground color, with a slight rosy suffusion with blackish markings.
(1) Range
Southeastern Canada and eastern USA.
Type locality (edmandsii): Warwick, MA; Bridport, VT.
Type locality (dentosella): Florida; North Carolina.
Season
Multivoltine
on Block Island, RI, with adult records from early June through mid-October.
(2)Life Cycle
Larvae are larger than larvae of the Indian meal moth. From egg to adult, the elapsed time averages 88 days. In the summer, the incubation period is about 9 days, larvae develop for 69 days, and the pupal period lasts 10 days. Adults live about 9 days and lay eggs for about 6 days. Their egg production varies from 63 to 200 but averages 128. These moths pass the winter as larvae
Remarks
"In western North America the driedfruit moth, Vitula serratilineella Ragonot, is a pest of stored raisins, prunes, dried apple and other dried fruit product. It is distiguished by... lighter colored forewings and nearly white (not brownish) hindwings. In eastern North America a closely related species, Vitula edmandsii (Packard), has brownish hindwings. It invades beehives but is not known to be a true pest of stored-products. Some authorities consider V. edmandsii and V. serratilineella a single species, with a western subspecies V. edmandsii serratilineella. Others retain the division between eastern and western species."
See Also
Vitula serratilineella is a western species. See "Remarks" above.
Print References
Packard, A. S. 1865: The humble bees of New England and their parasites; with notices of a new species of Anthophorabia, and a new genus of Proctotrupidae.
Proceedings of the Essex Institute. 4(6):
120;
pl. 3 figs 2, 2a, 2b.Internet References
BOLD Systems - images of DNA supported specimens
(4)
Wikipedia - brief description
(1)
pinned adult image (Bert Gustafsson, Swedish Museum of Natural History)
common name reference [Dried Fruit Moth] and presence in Florida (John Heppner, Florida State Collection of Arthropods)