Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada

Species Agonopterix robiniella - Four-dotted Agonopterix - Hodges#0882

An Agonopterix sp. - Agonopterix robiniella 20150613-DSC_1004 - Agonopterix robiniella Four-dotted Agonopterix  - Agonopterix robiniella Depressariidae, Four-dotted Agonopterix - Agonopterix robiniella Agonopterix robiniella Agonopterix robiniella Lépidoptère - Agonopterix robiniella Four-dotted Agonopterix - Hodges#0882 - Agonopterix robiniella
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Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Gelechioidea (Twirler Moths and kin)
Family Depressariidae
Subfamily Depressariinae
Genus Agonopterix
Species robiniella (Four-dotted Agonopterix - Hodges#0882)
Hodges Number
0882
Other Common Names
Locust Leaf Roller (larva)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Agonopterix robiniella (Packard, 1869)
Depressaria robiniella Packard, 1869
Depressaria hilarella Zeller, 1873
Explanation of Names
Specific epithet robiniella from the locust genus Robinia, the larval foodplant, and origin of the common name Locust Leaf Roller.
Size
Wingspan about 16 mm. (1)
Identification
Adult - forewing ground color orangish with sparse dark speckling; diffuse X-shaped gray shade line in basal half; single black dot in area of AM line; gray shading may extend into distal half of wing, giving overall patchy/blotchy appearance; hindwing brownish-gray with pale fringe.
Larva - head black; body green with thin pale band across each abdominal segment.
Range
Nova Scotia to Georgia, west to Oklahoma, north to Illinois, Michigan, southern Ontario.
Season
Adults fly from June to October.
Food
Larvae feed on leaves of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia).
See Also
Thelma's Agonopterix (Agonopterix thelmae) forewing is more yellowish-brown, has more extensive dark speckling, a reddish-orange smudge near middle of wing, two black spots usually present in location of AM line, and a diffuse gray shade line from middle of wing toward inner margin, then bending toward apex
Print References
Packard, A.S. 1869. Guide to the study of insects and a treatise on those injurious and beneficial to crops (Ninth edition). Henry Holt & Company. p.349
Internet References
pinned adult image by David Smith (John Snyder, Furman U., South Carolina)
adult image plus date and foodplant (Larry Line, Maryland)
live larva image by Steven Munson, plus common name reference [Locust Leaf Roller; larva] (USDA Forest Service, insectimages.org)
presence in Illinois; list (Illinois State Museum)
general distribution (Dalton State College, Georgia)