Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFTortricidae Members: Bactra Members: 13 NC Records

Bactra furfurana (Haworth, 1811) - Rush Bactra

Bactra furfuranaBactra furfuranaBactra furfurana
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Tortricoidea		 Family:
Tortricidae		Subfamily:
Olethreutinae		Tribe:
Bactrini		P3 Number:
51a0477		 MONA Number:
2706.00		 Other Common Names:
Mottled Marble, The Mottled Bran
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Bactra furfurana is a small clay-colored to light reddish-brown moth that typically has three dark marks near the base, middle and apical regions of the forewing, along with a series of alternating pale and blackish marks along the inner margin. The face, vertex, and thorax are more-or-less concolorous with the ground color of the forewing, which can vary from light clay to light reddish-brown. The forewing ground has scattered, diffuse, dark-brown to blackish spots, and usually has three large dark marks. These include, 1) an irregular, outwardly angulated fascia at around one-fourth the wing length from the base, 2) an outwardly oblique, irregular, median band that extends from the costa to just past the center of the wing, with the terminal portion bending sharply towards the apex, and 3) a dark, narrow band that runs from the apex towards the bent tip of the median band, where the two often come into close contact. These are variably expressed and can be reduced in size or even missing.

The costa has a series of paired, pale, posteriorly oblique strigulae along its length that become progressive more elongated towards the apex. The spaces between these are usually filled with darker coloration. The inner margin has alternating pale and blackish spots that extend from the near the basal one-fourth of the wing to near the tornus. The outer fringe is concolorous with the forewing ground color and has a darker band at the base, while the hindwing is light smoky brown to brownish-gray. Bactra verutana is the only other member of this genus in North Carolina and has two diffuse dark marks that do not extend to the costa.
Wingspan: 10-16 mm (Forbes, 1923)
Adult Structural Features: See images below.
Genitalia and other structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
Immatures and Development: The larvae commonly feed on Cyperus species and appear to have a larval life history that is similar to that of Bactra verutana, with the larvae feeding on the young leaves and fascicles of the sedges. They also bore into the stems of Eleocharis and Juncus (SuffolkMoths.com).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Bactra furfurana is broadly distributed across all of southern Canada from British Columbia to Nova Scotia, and in the US from Maine southward to southern Florida and westward to California, Oregon and Washington. This species appears to be native to North America and Eurasia, but has been introduced elsewhere in the world. It has been recorded in South America, Eurasia, Africa, southeast Asia and India. As of 2025, our records are all from the eastern and central Piedmont.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Bactra furfuranaAlamance 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 Hanover 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: The adults have been found year-round in Texas, and mostly from March through October elsewhere, except for the most northern populations where they fly for only two to four months during the summer. Populations in North Carolina appear to be univoltine. As of 2025, our records range from mid-May to mid-July, other than for one late-season record from late-October.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: This species is commonly found in and around wetlands, as well as in agricultural fields and other disturbed sites where weedy species of nutsedges grow.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on sedges and rushes (Disque, 1908; Forbes, 1923; Frick, 1985; Robinson et al., 2010). The documented genera that are used include flatsedges (Cyperus), spikerushes (Eleocharis), rushes (Juncus) and bulrushes (Scirpus). This species commonly uses Purple Nutsedge (C. rotundus) and Yellow Nutsedge (C. esculentus), which are two serious agricultural weeds that have spread globally. Much like B. verutana, the larvae likely use other native species of sedges, but as of 2025, these are undocumented. In England, the larvae feed inside the stems of Common Spikerush (Eleocharis palustris) and bunch-flowered soft rush (Juncus conglomeratus) (SuffolkMoths.com). - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and the larvae can be found feeding in the fascicles of sedges and stems of rushes. Information is needed on host use in North Carolina.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Sedge, Grass, and Rush Mires
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S2S4]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This is a somewhat uncommon species, with only 13 records as of 2025, and all from the eastern and central Piedmont.

 Photo Gallery for Bactra furfurana - Rush Bactra

Photos: 18
Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2025-07-06
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment: 		Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2025-07-06
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment:
Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Stefanie Hedrick on 2024-06-27
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment: 		Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-26
Orange Co.
Comment:
Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Lior S. Carlson, Dean Furbish on 2024-06-18
Lincoln Co.
Comment: 		Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-25
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-10-27
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-11
Orange Co.
Comment:
Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-05-31
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2022-06-06
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-05-27
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-05-27
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2021-05-17
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2021-05-17
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-18
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-18
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-18
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Bactra furfurana
Recorded by: Harry Wilson on 2012-05-31
Wake Co.
Comment: