Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members:
Eueretagrotis Members:
57 NC Records

Eueretagrotis perattentus (Grote, 1876) - Two-spot Dart Moth


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NoctuidaeSubfamily: NoctuinaeTribe: NoctuiniP3 Number: 933569.00 MONA Number: 11008.00
Comments: This genus contains 3 northern New World species that come down the Appalachian Mountains into North Carolina.
Species Status: Specimens from North Carolina have been sequenced and match almost all of those from more northern localities, there is one outlying specimen from Canada which may signify a sibling species in that part of the range.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954); Lafontaine (1998)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The collar is blackish. The ground color of the forewing is duller and smoother than in sigmoides but the cell is blackish, as in that species, but the costa is rarely pale (Forbes, 1954). This is the easiest species to identify because of the strong contrast between the dark forewing (particularly between the orbicular and reniform spots) and the light hindwing (Sullivan, pers. obs.).
Wingspan: 30 mm (Forbes, 1954)
Adult Structural Features: There is no spining on the tibia. For males this is the easiest species to distinguish because there is a pointed bulge in the middle of the ventral valve edge. The cornutus in the vesica is elongated and pointed backward. In the female the lateral edges of the ostium are enlarged, semicircular and well sclerotized, breast-like.
Structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The young larvae probably overwinter.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Restricted to the Mountains in North Carolina.
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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