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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

North American Lepidoptera Genitalia Library
Gelechiidae
5905902261Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders, 1844) – Pink Bollworm
  • Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders, 1844), introduced pest of cotton from India, had been declared eradicated in the US by the USDA in 2018. "There are still relictual populations in wild Sea-Island Cotton [(Gossypium barbadense; Malvaceae)] in nature reserves on the S. FL coast..." (James Hayden, in litt., 8iv2022). Listed as EXTIRPATED in the 2023 Checklist, this species is reinstated as a resident species in Pohl & Nanz (2025).
  • Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: Identifications often erroneous; DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; many specimens not sequenced.
  • Gilligan, T.M. & S. Passoa, 2014. LepIntercept - An identification resource for intercepted Lepidoptera larvae. USDA-APHIS-PPQ Identification Technology Program (ITP). Fort Collins, CO. - website.
  • Hughes, G.B. & W. Moore, 2011. Identification Tool to the Pink Bollworm and its Look-Alikes. Identification Technology Program, CPHST, PPQ, APHIS, USDA; Fort Collins, CO, website
  • Pohl, G.R. & S.R. Nanz, 2025. Corrections to the 2023 “Annotated Taxonomic Checklist Of The Lepidoptera Of North America, North Of Mexico”. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society, 79(2): 104-116.
  • Powell, J. A. & P. A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America, Pl. 10.40f; p. 102. Book Review and ordering
  • Shropshire, K.J. & D.W. Tallamy, 2025. Lepidoptera of North America, north of Mexico: an annotated list containing geographic ranges and host-plant records. ZooKeys, 1261: 101-113; Suppl. 1. (PDF or read online)
  • Species Page at iNaturalist

Genitalia photographs are needed for this species.

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