Moths of North Carolina
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Common Name:
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Leucania Members:
4 NC Records

Leucania incognita (Barnes & McDunnough, 1918) - No Common Name

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NoctuidaeSubfamily: NoctuinaeTribe: LeucaniiniP3 Number: 932950.00 MONA Number: 10450.00
Comments: One of 30 species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010; Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2015), 16 of which have been recorded in North Carolina. Previously included in Subfamily Hadeninae but moved to the much expanded Noctuinae by Lafontaine and Schmidt. They also included it in Tribe Leucaniini along with Mythimna.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Barnes and McDunnough (1918); Poole (2016)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: One of the smaller members of this genus (only extincta has a shorter wingspan). The ground color of the forewings is tan to darker brown (Poole, 2016, describes it as a rich, dark in Florida specimens), with a scattering of darker spots or specks. A conspicuous streak of darker brown runs from the base of the wing along the median vein out as far as the cell and occasionally all the way to the postmedian; a white dot or short line is located within this streak at the cell, partially surrounding a dark dot. The postmedian consists of an arching series of dark dots that are sometimes joined to form a dentate line. The hindwings are a shiny white with a distinctive series of dots along the upper portion of the terminal area (Barnes and McDunnough, 1918). Leucania scirpicola has a similar dark longitudinal streak with a white spot in the cell, but has smoother, less speckled forewings and has hindwings that are shaded with fuscous, particularly along the outer margin (Poole, 2016). Leucania subpunctata is another species with similar markings but is darker gray on the forewings and has dark streaks along the veins on the hindwings (Poole, 2016). For accurate identification of this species, photographs should show both the hindwings and the forewings; inclusion of wing measurements would also help.
Wingspan: 30 mm (Barnes and McDunnough, 1918)
Adult Structural Features: Male reproductive structures are illustrated by Poole (2016) and appear to have a distinctively shaped cucullus
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Appears to be confined to the southern portion of the Outer Coastal Plain
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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