About Dichomeris setosella (Clemens, 1860)
Dichomeris setosella is a moth species belonging to the Gelechiidae family. It was first described by James Brackenridge Clemens in 1860. This species is native to North America, where it has been recorded across a range stretching from New York to Florida, and also including Manitoba, eastern Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kentucky.
The forewings of Dichomeris setosella are dark brown, lightly dusted with pale ochreous. An irregularly shaped, pale ochreous triangular patch sits at the base of the costa; this patch is lightly dusted with fuscous, and forms an angle on the upper portion of the wing fold. The angle is margined on the underside with blackish brown. There is a small patch of the same blackish brown hue between the angle and the base of the wing, and a larger blackish brown patch behind the angle that extends from the subcostal nervure to the fold. A pale ochreous line runs across the base of the nervules, and the wing is nearly uniformly dark brown on both sides of this line. The hindwings are yellowish brown.
Adult Dichomeris setosella can be seen in flight from March through November. The larvae of this species feed on plants from the Eupatorium and Vernonia genera, as well as the following species: Verbesina virginica, Pinus strobus, Thuja occidentalis, Pluchea odorata, and Ageratina altissima var. angustata.
