Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« Home »
View PDFNoctuidae Members: Euxoa Members: 5 NC Records

Euxoa messoria (Harris, 1841) - Reaper Dart

No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Noctuinae		Tribe:
Noctuini		P3 Number:
933319		 MONA Number:
10705.00		 Other Common Name:
Darksided Cutworm
Comments: One of 181 species that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010). Most are Western but 13 have been recorded in North Carolina. Euxoa messoria belongs to subgenus Longivesica (Lafontaine, 1987), which contains three other species, none of which has been recorded in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Lafontaine (1987)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Can be confused with E. inmixta and E. scholastica; distinguishable by genitalia (Lafontaine, 1987).
Forewing Length: 13 to 18 mm (Lafontaine, 1987)
Structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable only by close inspection of structural features or by DNA analysis.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Euxoa messoriaAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous, feeding on many species of agricultural importance. Wagner et al. (2011) specifically list Garden Onion (Allium cepa), Turnip (Brassica rapa), strawberry (Fragaria), Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas), Garden Lettuce (Lactuca sativa), apple (Malus), Cultivated Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), Garden Pea (Pisum sativum), Peach (Prunus persica), Garden Radish (Raphanus sativus), currant (Ribes), Garden Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), clover (Trifolium), grape (Vitis), and Corn (Zea mays). - View
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: [SR]
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S1S2]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: