Ethmiinae
Guides
Ethmia apicipunctella
Ethmia apicipunctella is a small moth in the family Depressariidae, found in southwestern North America and adjacent Mexico. The species is characterized by variable black spotting on white or pale gray forewings and whitish hindwings with brownish tinging toward the apical area. Adults are active from March to July. The genus Ethmia was formerly placed in Coleophoridae but is now classified in Depressariidae.
Ethmia brevistriga
Ethmia brevistriga is a small moth in the family Depressariidae, endemic to California. Adults are active from March to mid-May. The species exhibits distinct wing patterning with a white line on dark brown forewings, and has two recognized subspecies showing habitat-related color variation. Larvae are specialized feeders on Phacelia distans.
Ethmia discostrigella
mountain-mahogany moth
Ethmia discostrigella, commonly known as the mountain-mahogany moth, is a small moth in the family Depressariidae. It occurs across western North America from the western United States south into Mexico. The species exhibits notable geographic variation, with two recognized subspecies occupying distinct ranges separated by the Sierra Nevada: the nominate subspecies east of the Sierra Nevada and subspecies subcaerulea west of the range. Larvae feed on Cercocarpus species (mountain-mahogany), making this a host-specialist moth with clear ecological ties to its namesake plant.
Ethmia semitenebrella
Ethmia semitenebrella is a moth in the family Depressariidae, first described by Dyar in 1902. It is distributed across the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, with a bivoltine flight period from April to August. The species is characterized by distinct wing patterning with dark gray forewing costal halves contrasting with whitish gray dorsal halves. Larvae feed on Cercocarpus ledifolius and likely other Cercocarpus species.
Ethmia trifurcella
Ethmia trifurcella is a small moth in the family Depressariidae, distributed across eastern and central North America. The species is characterized by distinctive forewing patterning with a sinuate longitudinal line dividing dark and pale areas. Larvae are specialized herbivores that construct tubular shelters on host plant leaves.
Ethmia umbrimarginella
Ethmia umbrimarginella is a small moth in the family Depressariidae, first described by Busck in 1907. It is found in the southwestern United States, specifically in southern Arizona and New Mexico. The species is characterized by its distinctive wing pattern: dark slate gray forewings with a dirty white costal edge, and white hindwings with a broad dark gray margin. Adults have been recorded in February.