Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« Home »
View PDFTortricidae Members: Bactra Members: 2 NC Records

Bactra maiorina Heinrich, 1923 - No Common Name

Bactra maiorina
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Tortricoidea		 Family:
Tortricidae		Subfamily:
Olethreutinae		Tribe:
Bactrini		P3 Number:
51a0477.1		 MONA Number:
2708.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Bactra maiorina is a distinctive species in which the ground color of the forewing is yellowish-tan and overlain with a continuous, central, longitudinal fuscous shade from the base to the apex. The palps, head and thorax are concolorous with the forewing ground, and the costa has a series of short, pale strigulae from the base to the apex. The terminal fringe is concolorous with the forewing ground, and the outer margin has a thin line of alternating black and white marks. The antenna is reddish-brown, while the outer legs are dark-brown with yellowish-tan bands. The hindwing is smoky-brown.

Bactra priapeia is very similar to B. maiorina, but has longer strigulae along the costa and a line along the outer margin that is not as conspicuously marked with alternating black and white patterning. We recommend dissecting any Batra specimens that have the longitudinal fuscous shading along the forewing.
Wingspan: 13-20 mm (Heinrich, 1926).
Adult Structural Features: Heinrich (1926), Powell (1997) and Diakonoff (1964) have illustrations of the male and female genitalia. Also, see images below for North Carolina specimens.
Genitalia and other structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable only by close inspection of structural features or by DNA analysis.
Immatures and Development: The larval life history is poorly documented. The larvae have been reported to feed in the stems of sedges, and there is one record of an adult emerging from the head of a cattail (Robinson et al., 2023).
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Bactra maiorina has been found at scattered locations across the US and Canada, including California, Arizona, and Colorado in the West, and from Alberta eastward to Quebec and New Brunswick in southern Canada. Populations in the eastern US are mostly found in coastal regions from southeastern Texas to Florida, and northward along the Atlantic Coast to Maryland and Pennsylvania. A second group is centered around the Great Lakes region where it extends from northern Ohio westward to Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa and Nebraska. As of 2025, we have a single record from New Hanover County.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Bactra maiorinaAlamance 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 documented from March through October in different areas of the range, with a seasonal peak in June and July. As of 2025, our two records are from mid-April and late-May.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
Larval Host Plants: The larval hosts are poorly documented, but sedges appear to be the primary hosts (Cole, 1930; Brown et al., 2010). Cole (1930) reported that an adult emerged from the head of a Broadleaf Cattail (Typha latifolia) and Forbes (1923) listed "Scirpus and grass" as hosts. Another reported host is River Bulrush Bolboschoenus [= Scirpus] fluviatilis (Diakonoff, 1964).
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S1S2]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species appears to be rare in North Carolina where we have a single site record as of 2025.

 Photo Gallery for Bactra maiorina - No common name

Photos: 2
Bactra maiorina
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2023-05-21
New Hanover Co.
Comment: 		Bactra maiorina
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2023-05-21
New Hanover Co.
Comment: