Pelochrista derelicta (Heinrich) (Tortricidae: Olethreutinae: Eucosmini)
Common name: derelict Pelochrista moth
FWL: 5.5–8.0 mm
Head, thorax pale brown to dark reddish-brown; forewing with ground color similar to scaling on head and thorax with slightly darker basal fascia. The most conspicuous and useful feature is the pale distal margin of the median fascia, which contrasts strongly with the much darker basal portion of the forewing. This nearly straight line runs from approximately halfway along the costa to just short of the tornus on the inner margin. Beyond this line the forewing is slightly paler and the paired costal strigulae are more evident. The male forewing lacks a costal fold. The hindwing of both sexes is brown.
Male genitalia are characterized by a weakly-developed uncus; moderate, nub-like socii; and valvae with a narrowly rounded cucullus and a sharply produced anal angle with a single stout spine. Female genitalia are characterized by a narrow lamella antevaginalis on a plate-like sterigma and two signa in the corpus bursae.
The following account is summarized from MacKay (1959)MacKay (1959):
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338..
Mature larva approximately 13 mm in length; width of head approximately 1.4 mm; head pale except for darker pigmentation laterally and on mandibles; body, legs similarly pale; anal fork absent; SV group on A1, 2, 7, 8, 9 typically 2:2:2:2:2.
Detailed figures of larval chaetotaxy are available in MacKay (1959)MacKay (1959):
MacKay, M. R. 1959. Larvae of the North American Olethreutidae (Lepidoptera). Canadian Entomologist, Supplement 10: 1-338..
Well-marked individuals of Pelochrista derelicta are unlikely to be confused with any other Nearctic tortricid with the exception of P. juncticiliana. The two can be separated by range: P. derelicta occurs east of the Rocky Mountains and P. juncticiliana to the west. Male genitalia also differ in the shape of the cucullus.
Pelochrista derelicta is broadly distributed in North America, from Nova Scotia west to British Columbia (though some of these western records may refer to P. juncticiliana) and south to Florida, Arkansas, and Colorado. This is a common species in prairie and old field habitats wherever goldenrod (Solidago spp.) grows.
Larvae bore in the roots of goldenrod (Solidago spp.), but little else is known about the life cycle of this species. Adults are found from mid July into early October.
View full screen host table here
Authors: KA Austin, TM Gilligan, ME Epstein
Content last updated May 2025
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