Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members:
Schinia Members:
11 NC Records

Schinia carolinensis (Barnes & McDunnough, 1911) - Carolina Schinia

No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NoctuidaeSubfamily: HeliothinaeP3 Number: 932065 MONA Number: 11202.00
Comments: One of 126 species in this genus that occur in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010, 2011), the majority of which occur in the West; 25 have been recorded in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1938); Schweitzer et al. (2011)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A small Flower Moth. The forewings are straw yellow and unmarked; the hindwings are fuscous with a darker but diffuse discal spot.
Wingspan: 22-24 mm (Forbes, 1954; Schweitzer et al., 2011)
Adult Structural Features: The tibiae of the foreleg has two enormous claws on the inner side and two weaker spines on the outer side (Forbes, 1954).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Early stages are unknown (Schweitzer et al., 2011)
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: All of our records come from the southern half of the Coastal Plain, including the Fall-line Sandhills. These populations probably represent the northern extent of its range.
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)

Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: Univoltine, with adults flying from late July to late August
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: All of our records come from wet to mesic Pine Savannas and Sandhill Seeps (Brimley's record from Southern Pines does not have any associated habitat information but is likely to have come from some type of Longleaf Pine community).
Larval Host Plants: Unknown - View
Observation Methods: Appears to come reasonably well to blacklights but adults can also be flushed during the day. Larvae and adults will probably be most easily sampled by searching the flowers of their host plants, once those are discovered.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Wet, Sandy, Fire-maintained Herblands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: SR
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G3 SH
State Protection: Listed as Significantly Rare by the Natural Heritage Program. That designation, however, does not confer any legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species has a small global range, occurring from North Carolina to Florida in very localized populations (Schweitzer et al., 2011); it has not been recorded in North Carolina since 2001. As an apparent specialist on wet Longleaf Pine habitats, it has undoubtedly undergone a great reduction in its distribution over the past 200 years due to the massive destruction of the Longleaf Pine biome. Continued losses are probably still occurring due both to habitat conversion -- particularly to pine plantations -- and to suppression of the wildfires that are necessary to maintain its open, herb-dominated habitats. More accurate determination of its management needs can be made once its host plants have been determined, as well as the details of its life history, particularly how long its pupae can remain dormant and how that fits into its strategy of coping with frequent fire.