Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFLimacodidae Members: 48 NC Records

Packardia geminata (Packard, 1864) - Jeweled Tailed Slug Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Zygaenoidea Family: LimacodidaeP3 Number: 660017.00 MONA Number: 4659.00
Comments: One of four currently recognized members of the genus in North America, three of which occur in North Carolina. The fourth, albicaudata, may merely be a form of geminata (Wagner, 2005).
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, BAMONATechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1923)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Wagner (2005)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Ground color of forewings variable, ranging from off white to grayish to orange-brown. The median area is darker than the rest of forewing, light or dark brown to gray and typically edged by brown median and postmedian lines. The postmedian line intersects with a curved dark line that runs at an oblique angle from near the midpoint of the costa toward the anal angle, where it meets two or three oval or triangular white spots. The forewing pattern is reminiscent of that of P. elegans, but on that species the median and post-medial lines are white and spots at the anal angle are dark.
Wingspan: 25 mm (Forbes, 1923)
Adult Structural Features: Length from tip of head to apex of forewing at rest averages 13 mm (n = 1).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae are elongate-oval, bluish-green slugs with pronounced tails. Subdorsal stripes straighter and whiter than shown by similar P. elegans, with less dark dappling on the dorsum than that species (Wagner, 2005).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: We have records from all three regions of the state, but most come from the Mountains, with the rest of the state sparsely represented
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: Single flight, from May to July
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Most of our records come from wet to mesic hardwood forests, including peatlands, bottomland hardwoods, and pond and lake shorelines in the Coastal Plain and cove forests and northern hardwoods in the Mountains.
Larval Host Plants: A variety of trees and shrubs, both deciduous and evergreen, including birches, hickories, oaks, and spruce (Covell, 1984).
Observation Methods: Attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 [S4]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it in state parks and on other public lands.
Comments: Less commonly encountered than most others in the family. Although this species ranges across all three regions of the state, most records are from the mountains and coastal plain, where collecting efforts have historically been concentrated.

 Photo Gallery for Packardia geminata - Jeweled Tailed Slug Moth

Photos: 24

Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-05-15
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-06-12
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2021-06-04
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2021-06-01
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-05-27
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-05-27
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2021-05-22
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-07
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2019-06-05
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2019-05-30
Yancey Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-05-28
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-05-28
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-05-08
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-06-16
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-05-27
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Leigh Anne Carter on 2016-05-18
Mecklenburg Co.
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Recorded by: B. Bockhahn, P. Scharf, K. Kittelberger on 2015-06-18
Avery Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Paul Scharf,B. Bockhahn, K. Kittelberger on 2014-06-09
Avery Co.
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Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2014-05-22
McDowell Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2013-06-04
Transylvania Co.
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Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2013-05-30
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Doug Blatny/Jackie Nelson on 2012-05-26
Ashe Co.
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Recorded by: T. DeSantis on 2012-05-06
Camden Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Parker Backstrom on 2011-06-18
Watauga Co.
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