April 28, 2020: checked out a small patch of Bastard Toadflax, Comandra umbellata, in the road ditch and found numerous, barely discernible weavings of the apical leaves. Quite a few of these had pink/red larvae. Some had frass, flower buds gone, and a bit of leaf herbivory but no larva. Collected several giving each a vial, varied the substrate, both material and amount of moisture.

May 3, 2020: at least 3 larvae have pupated

Just one adult, in good condition, needed from this batch.

Previous collection of dead larvae at Hayden Prairie:


C. umbellata has 4 known 5 known moth larvae that feed on it, 2 may be host specific at least to genus.
Archips argyrospila, generalist:


Choristoneura rosaceana, generalist:


Olethreutes comandranum, known host C. umbellata:


Acleris comandrana, known host C. umbellata, no larval photos on BG.
BG info leads to this: Teras comandrana, n. sp. “The larva of this species which was found in Amherst, Mass, May 24, 1890, feeding on Comandra bellardi, is light green above and much lighter beneath.”
The Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States, Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station, June 1923, Memoir 68, page 484
June; November. Larva on Comandra bellardi; light green with whitish protuberances, and black head and cervical shield; in early June. Massachusetts to Texas

And Ochromolopis ramapoella. MicroLeps.org "Ochromolopis ramapoella (Fig. 4) feeds as a larva on the fruit of false toadflax, Comandra umbellata (Santalaceae), with adults emerging in late May."

May 13, 2020: 2 moths emerged.
Returned to the collection site where there are still larvae within some of the woven leaves enclosing the flower buds.

May 14, 2020: 2 moths emerged
May 15, 2020: 1 moth emerged