''Exaeretia umbraticostella'' is a species of

moth Moths are a group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not Butterfly, butterflies. They were previously classified as suborder Heterocera, but the group is Paraphyly, paraphyletic with respect to butterflies (s ...

in the family

Depressariidae Depressariidae is a family of moths. It was formerly treated as a subfamily of Gelechiidae, but is now recognised as a separate family, comprising about 2,300 species worldwide. Subfamilies Depressariidae consists of ten subfamilies: * Acriinae ...

. It is found in North America, where it has been recorded from

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

and

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 16–19 mm. The forewings are light reddish ochreous with small diffused blackish-fuscous spots on the costa and around the termen. There is a conspicuous, outwardly diffused blackish-fuscous shade on the middle of the costa, preceded by two minute discal dots of the same colour. There is a light fuscous shade from the costal patch, around the termen to near the middle of the inner margin. The hindwings are shining greyish fuscous.

Ecology and behaviour

The larvae feed on '' Balsamohirza sagittata'' and ''

Helianthus pumilus ''Helianthus pumilus'' is a North American species of sunflower known by the common name little sunflower or bush sunflower. It is found in the western United States, primarily the Rocky Mountain region of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado, with a f ...

''."''Exaeretia'' Stainton, 1849"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' They feed within tubes, formed from tied terminal leaves.

References

Moths described in 1881 Exaeretia Moths of North America {{Depressariinae-stub