About Exoteleia pinifoliella (Chambers, 1880)
Exoteleia pinifoliella, commonly known as the pine needleminer, is a moth species belonging to the family Gelechiidae. It is native to eastern North America. The forewings of this moth are brownish yellow, flecked with fuscous scales, and marked with three white fascia. These fascia are positioned approximately at the basal fourth, middle, and apical fourth of the total wing length. The wing apex is densely dusted with fuscous scales over a white base, while the dorsal margin is sparsely flecked with brown. The white fascia are more or less edged with brown scales, and the third fascia is sometimes interrupted in its middle. The fuscous scales that border the first and second fascia, particularly those near the fold along the second fascia, form small tufts of raised scales. The hindwings are pale grayish in color. This species has one generation per year. Its larvae feed on a variety of hard pine species, including jack pine and pitch pine. The larvae live inside pine needles, mining them as they feed, and spend the winter inside a mined needle. In the next stage, the larva bores into additional new needles, then pupates inside its final mined needle.
