The last half of last week provided some great mothing for me as I added at least a dozen new species. But one has been driving me crazy, and I have attached poor but the best photos that I took. The little moth was about the size of a Chinquapin Leafminer. As I worked through the MPG plates for the hundredth time (so it seemed), I decided that it "feels" right to be a Stigmella. The problem is that too few of them have photos available for comparison. This morning a did some research into the nine individuals that should occur in the state:
Hodges # Name Host plants
0073 Stigmella rhoifoliella poison ivy
0079 S. slingerlandella prunus species
0081 S. apicialbella American elm
0088 S. latifasciella oak
0090 S. castaneaefoliella American chestnut
0092 S. corylifoliella blueberry, huckleberry
0093 S. ostryaefoliella shagbark hickory, hophornbeam, hornbeam
0094 S. myricafoliella wax-myrtle
0095 S. juglandifoliella pecan
I have underlined the species for which we have the host plants. MPG has spread-wing photos of Hodges numbers 0081, 0088, 0092, 0093 and 0094, but none of them match my moth. Does anyone have more information to help me ID my suspect? Is it in fact Stigmella, or is it some other genus?
Harry Wilson Zebulon, NC
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