Scrobipalpa scutellariaeella

The small size (9.5 mm wingspan), brown-blue coloration with dense white apical dusting, and paired costal and dorsal whitish streaks are distinctive. The specific host association with Scutellaria lateriflora may aid identification of larvae. Similar Scrobipalpa species lack this particular wing pattern and host specificity.

Adults have a wingspan of approximately 9.5 mm. The forewings are brown with a blue tinge and are dusted with pale or bluish white scales. A whitish costal streak appears before the cilia, with a matching dorsal streak opposite it. The white dusting becomes denser towards the wing apex.

Recorded from Kentucky and Maine in the eastern United States. GBIF distribution records confirm presence in the US.

Larvae feed specifically on Scutellaria lateriflora (blue skullcap). Adult feeding habits are unknown.

• Scutellaria lateriflora - larval host plantLarvae mine leaves and pupate in silk-lined external tubes attached to the plant

Larvae mine the underside of leaves of the host plant. They construct an external silk-lined tube that serves as both shelter and pupation site.

Larvae are leaf miners, feeding on the undersides of leaves. They construct and inhabit silk-lined tubes for shelter and pupation.

As a specialist herbivore on Scutellaria lateriflora, the species may influence local population dynamics of its host plant. The mining behavior creates distinctive damage patterns on foliage.

• Other Scrobipalpa speciesSimilar small size and general morphology, but differ in wing pattern details and host plant associations
• Other Gelechiidae leaf minersSimilar larval mining behavior, but distinguished by host specificity to Scutellaria lateriflora and adult wing pattern

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• GBIF taxonomy match
• iNaturalist taxon
• Catalogue of Life