Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFLimacodidae Members:
Apoda Members:
9 NC Records

Apoda rectilinea (Grote & Robinson, 1868) - Rectilinea Slug Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Zygaenoidea Family: LimacodidaeP3 Number: 660026.00 MONA Number: 4668.00
Comments: This is one of five species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico. Three have been recorded in North Carolina.
Species Status: The type locality is South Carolina (Grote and Robinson, 1868).
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Grote and Robinson (1868)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: In this species the head, palps, antennae, thorax, dorsum of the abdomen, and ground color of the forewings vary from light tan to reddish-brown, and often have a scattered dusting of fine blackish specks. The most prominent mark is a creamy white, posteriorly oblique, median line with a thin black border on the proximal margin. The band extends from just before the middle of the inner margin to just beyond the middle of the costa and is followed by a grayish or yellowish shade that is usually lighter than the basal area. A dark line is also usually evident that extends from the costa at around three-fourths to the dorsal half of the termen. A spot of basal color is sometimes present at the anal angle, similar to that of A. biguttata (Grote and Robinson, 1868). The hindwings are distinctively dark fuscous. Apoda y-inversum has a similar pattern but the whitish median line is not bordered by black, and the median area is either darker than the basal area or the same shade. The hindwing is also pale yellow, or at least not markedly darker than the forewing.
Wingspan: 22 mm (Grote and Robinson, 1868)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larval life history has not been described.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Apoda rectilinea has southern affinities and is found from southeastern North Carolina southward along the Coastal Plain to southern Florida, and westward to western Texas and southern New Mexico. Two isolated records are also known from southern Illinois and northern Indiana. The status of populations in Texas and New Mexico are in need of study since a similar form that has been treated as both a subspecies of A. rectilinea, and as a full species (A. latomia), are both present in the region. As of 2023, all of our records are from the Fall-line Sandhills.
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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