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

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Ermine Moths and kin (Yponomeutoidea) » Shiny Head-Standing Moths (Argyresthiidae) » Argyresthia » Argyresthia alternatella - Hodges#2435 (Argyresthia alternatella)

Species Argyresthia alternatella - Hodges#2435

Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Life Cycle · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Argyresthia alternatella - Hodges#2435 - Argyresthia alternatella moth - Argyresthia alternatella Moth - Argyresthia alternatella Argyresthia? - Argyresthia alternatella Argyresthiidae: Argyresthia alternatella - Argyresthia alternatella moth - Argyresthia alternatella Pennsylvania Moth - Argyresthia alternatella Argyresthia alternatella
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Yponomeutoidea (Ermine Moths and kin)
Family Argyresthiidae (Shiny Head-Standing Moths)
Genus Argyresthia
Species alternatella (Argyresthia alternatella - Hodges#2435)
Hodges Number
2435
Other Common Names
Honey-Comb Micro (for the pattern, not the diet)
Juniper Seed Caterpillar (Marcovitch)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Argyresthia alternatella Kearfott, 1908 (1)
Gelechia alternatella
Phylogenetic sequence #360141
Explanation of Names
Specific epithet is meant as an alternative to "A. cupressella Wlsm. (described from California) which they superficially resemble." (1)
Numbers
52 spp in genus north of Mexico per Arnett (1985) (2)
Size
Wingspan 10-12 mm (Kearfott, 1908; Marcovitch, 1915).
Larva to 7 mm (Marcovitch, 1915).
Pupa about 4 mm (Marcovitch, 1915).
Identification
Larva - see Marcovitch description available through Print References below.
Adult - see both Kearfott and Marcovitch descriptions below. (1)
Range
MPG records as of May, 2013 indicate a range from western Texas north to Minnesota, east to southern Quebec and Massachusetts, southwest through New Jersey, Kentucky and on to Alabama. However, Braun collected them at 5175' in Glacier National Park, Montana so the range is presumably much wider. (3)
Type Location: Essex County, New Jersey. (1)
Food
Larvae feed on the berries of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana, Cupressaceae) (Marcovitch, 1915). Note: Braun collected the adults in Montana, well outside the USDA range data of this host.
Life Cycle
Eggs laid on stems just below below juniper berries. Full-grown larvae leave the seed and build white silken cocoons, presumably on the plant, in which they pupate (Marcovitch, 1915).
Print References
Beadle, D. & S. Leckie. 2012. Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America. Houghton Mifflin. p.42-43 (4)
Braun, A.F. 1921. Two weeks collecting at Glacier National Park. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 73: 10. (5)
Kearfott, W.D. 1908. New North American Tortricidae and Tineina. Journal of the New York Entomoligical Society 16(3): 182 (1)
Marcovitch, R. 1915. The biology of the juniper berry insects, and descriptions of new species. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 8(2): 174-177
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group (3)
Microleps.org
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (6)
Works Cited
1.New North American Tortricidæ and Tineina
W. D. Kearfott. 1908. Journal of The New York Entomological Society, 16: 167-188.
2.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
3.North American Moth Photographers Group
4.Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America
David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie. 2012. Houghton Mifflin.
5.Two weeks collecting in Glacier National Park
Annette F. Braun. 1921. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 73(1): 1-23.
6.BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems
Contributed by Mike Quinn on 6 February, 2009 - 1:51pm
Additional contributions by Maury Heiman, Randy Hardy
Last updated 12 November, 2017 - 11:37am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact