Moths of North Carolina
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6 NC Records

Leucania calidior (Forbes, 1936) - Cane Wainscot

Leucania calidior
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NoctuidaeSubfamily: NoctuinaeTribe: LeucaniiniP3 Number: 932964 MONA Number: 10460.00
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. Additionally, Forbes (1936) grouped calidior with L. inermis, ursula, pseudargyria -- all found in North Carolina -- and the Floridian pilipalpis in the Pseudargyria Complex.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1936, 1954); Poole (2016)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-large Wainscot. The forewings are a yellowish brown, partly tinged with a pinkish wash and with darker gray areas located between the orbicular and reniform, before the orbicular, and in a triangular area located in the lower half of the wing apex. Both the orbicular and reniform spots are paler cream, with a darker spot in lower half of the reniform. The antemedian line is fairly inconspicuous but the postmedian is somewhat more strongly defined, following a strongly dentate course and sometimes appearing to form a double line, with dark points on the veins alternating with somewhat weaker crescents located more medially in the interspaces. Hindwings are dark fuscous. Other members of the Pseudargyria Complex have a similar pattern, but differ somewhat in ground color and size of the dark spot in the reniform. The structural characters described below -- particularly the male genitalia -- provide a more certain way to identify these species.
Wingspan: 37 mm (Forbes, 1936)
Adult Structural Features: The palpi are pale luteous on the outer sides and gray on the upper and inner surfaces (Forbes, 1936). Other members of this group have more uniformly colored palpi, either all dark in pseudargyria, mainly pale in ursula, or a mixture of luteous and gray in inermis. As in pseudargyria and ursula, males possess large tufts of hair on the foreleg femur and tibia. In specimens we have examined, these tufts are a somewhat dark, ash gray, rather than the paler gray of ursula or the much darker gray-brown of pseudargyria. Male genitaila are distinctive, with the shape of the uncus and the clasper differing from other members of this complex and the aedeagus possessing two strong fused spines in the vesica, along with several smaller fused spines (see description and illustrations provided by Forbes, 1936).
Structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
Immatures and Development: Larvae appear to be undescribed
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: North Carolina records come solely from the Coastal Plain, although its host plants also occur in the Piedmont and Mountains
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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