Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Euxoa Members: 5 NC Records

Euxoa redimicula (Morrison, 1874) - Fillet Dart

Euxoa redimicula
view caption
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Noctuinae		Tribe:
Noctuini		P3 Number:
933440		 MONA Number:
10851.00
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. Redimicula to the Detersa Group of Subgenus Euxoa (Lafontaine, 1987); detersa is the only other member of this group that occurs here.
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: A medium-sized, bluish-gray Dart. The ground color is typically dull blue-gray, with a contrastingly black basal dash and with similarly dark marks before the orbicular and between the orbicular and reniform. The orbicular and reniform are large and filled with the pale ground color; the claviform is relatively small and pale filled, but with a blackish outline. The subterminal area is pale, contrasting with the darker terminal area. Hindwings are light fuscous in the males, with a darker gray marginal band, and darker fuscous in the females. Euxoa detersa shares the dark marginal band that contrasts with a pale subterminal band, but is usually paler, browner, and lacks the strong dark basal dash found in redimicula.
Wingspan: 33-35 mm (Forbes, 1954)
Forewing Length: 13-16 mm (Lafontaine, 1987)
Adult Structural Features: The ovipositor lobes in the females are distinctive, possessing two divergent, curved chitinous processes (Forbes, 1954)
Structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Immature stages have not been described (Lafontaine, 1987)
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Known in North Carolina only from the northern Mountains
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Euxoa redimiculaAlamance 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.
Flight Comments: Probably univoltine, with adults flying in the summer
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: All of our records come from sites above 4,000' in elevation, with the majority coming from a site where Bigtooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata) is present; the other comes from a wet pasture.
Larval Host Plants: Host plants are apparently unrecorded, but Lafontaine (1987) noted that it occurs in the Great Plains region in association with groves of aspen, cottonwood, and Ponderosa Pine. Given that our own records come primarily from a site where Bigtooth Aspen (Populus grandidentata) is present, species of aspen (or possibly other species of poplars) seem possible as the host plants for this species. - View
Observation Methods: Comes to lights but to what extent is unknown.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: [W-PK]
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR SNR [S1S2]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species is primarily Northern, with records from only two sites in North Carolina. However, the existence of multiple records at one site, and from multiple years, strongly suggests that at least one resident population occurs in the state. If Bigtooth Aspen -- listed as S2 in North Carolina -- turns out to be the host plant for this species, then the rarity of that species could easily explain the rarity of the moth. If that turns out to be the case, then we would recommend designating this species as Significantly Rare in North Carolina.