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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Nepticulidae 16a0055 – 0080   Stigmella villosella (Clemens, [1862])

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Larva and Host Plants: Host familiy: Rosaceae.  Host genera: Rosa Rubus.  Notes: miner (Braun 1917).  (Shropshire & Tallamy 2025 [accessed 6xii2025]) Description/ Field Marks: "Antennae black with a white tip; frontal tuft orange-yellow; eye-caps yellowish. Thorax glossy black-brown with a few metallic scales; abdomen black-grey dorsally, paler ventrally; legs dark grey, their outer surfaces paler and gleaming with a lead-like luster. The forewings exhibit the coloration of the European N. aurella Haw., and—at a point three-fifths of their length from the base—bear a rather broad, straight, pale-golden transverse band. The wing apex is dark violet-brown; here lie scattered, individual, gold-gleaming scales—a feature absent in the much larger European Aurella. Fringes dark grey.The hindwings and their fringes are of a paler grey hue." (Frey & Boll 1876; Google Translate trans.) Similar Species: Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.) Synonymy: villosella (Clemens, [1862]) (Nepticula) - MONA 1983: 80 dallasiana (Frey & Boll, 1876) (Nepticula); TL: Dallas [TX].

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: Identifications often erroneous; DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; many specimens not sequenced. Clemens, B., 1861 [1862]. Micro-Lepidopterous Larvae. Notes on a few species, the imagos of which are probably undescribed. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia, 1(4): 84. Frey, H. & J. Boll, 1876. Einige Tineen aus Texas. Entomologische Zeitung, 37: 228. Hall et al., 2021. The Moths of North Carolina - website (identification, habitats and life history) 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 Block Island Moths Species Page at BugGuide.Net Species Page at Mass Moths Species Page at iNaturalist

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