Moths of North Carolina

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Hymenia perspectalis (Hübner, 1796) - Spotted Beet Webworm Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Pyraloidea

Family:
Crambidae

Subfamily:
Pyraustinae

Tribe:
Spilomelini

P3 Number:
80a1036

MONA Number:
5169.00

Species Status: The adults of this and other members of the genus are capable of flying long distances, with individuals from southern populations often moving northward as the summer progresses. Individuals occasionally show up in Bermuda, which is around 650 miles from Cape Hatteras -- the nearest mainland site (Ferguson et al., 1991).

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Chittenden (1914)

Adult Markings: In this species the head, thorax and abdomen are brown. The ground color of the forewing is also brown, but with varying amounts of ocherous-yellow scales intermixed. The marks on the forewing include a squarish white spot below the costa in the middle of the wing, and a whitish to dull yellowish antemedial line that is weakly excurved and often obscure. A whitish to dull yellowish postmedial line is present at three-fourths that extends nearly perpendicular from the costa before ending a third way across the wing. It is followed by two small dots below and beyond its lower end (Forbes, 1923). The final mark is a nearly straight, but waved, line that extends from below the squarish spot to the middle of the inner margin. The hindwing is similar in color to the forewing and has a wide, irregular whitish to dull yellow fascia that widens as it extends from near the tornus to the middle of the costa. The fringe of both wings is more-or-less checkered with white and brown marks and has a thin, interrupted brown line at the base. All of the whitish marks on the forewing and hindwing are defined with darker brown scaling.

This species resembles the Hawaiian Beet Webworm Moth (Spoladea recurvalis), but the latter has a much broader and pronounced median line that extends all the way to the costa.

Wingspan: 16 to 22 mm.

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: Chittenden (1914) described the life history when larvae were feeding on Swiss chard, beets, ornamental greenhouse plants and other hosts. As reported by the author, the eggs are laid singly on the host plant and the larvae feed on the foliage and flowers. They loosely web the leaves and stems together and feed within the webbed shelters. The older larvae mostly feed at night and often hide during the day about the bases of plants near the roots, or under lower leaves that often rest on the ground. They larvae can reach high local densities and are capable of heavy defoliation of the host plants. When fully grown they pupate either on the plant or on the ground in a cocoon that is lightly covered with webbing, and sometimes with an abundance of black frass. The pupal stage last 15-21 days depending on the temperature.

Chittenden (1914) provides drawings of an older larvae and noted that the head is marked with purplish dots, leaving a white, longitudinal center through each half of the dorsal plates. The prothoracic plate has a black lateral border with conspicuous pinacula with rather long hairs, including two dark pairs on the first thoracic segment, with two others on each side. The pinacula on the second thoracic segment are very similarly to those on the first. The abdominal segments are marked with four pinacula on the dorsum and larger ones on each side. The eight abdominal segment has four rounded dorsal spots above and an elongated spot on each side.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Hymenia perspectalis has a cosmopolitan distribution, presumably due in part to introductions in certain areas of the world. In the New World, where it appears to be native, it occurs from southern South America northward to North America and the Carribean. It occurs across much of the central and eastern U.S. from Maine southward to southern Florida and westward to southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Nebraska and North Dakota. It also occurs in southern Canada from Ontario eastward to Prince Edward Island. This species occurs statewide in North Carolina.

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: The adults have been observed year-round in southern states such as Florida, Louisiana and Texas, and mostly from May through November elsewhere. As of 2023, our records extend from late-April through mid-November, with a couple of outliers in late-December and January.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: The majority of our records come from residential areas and other disturbed and fragmented habitats. We also have records from less disturbed habitats such as open, pine-dominated forests in the Sandhills and eastern coastal forests.

Larval Host Plants: This cosmopolitan species is polyphagous and feeds on a wide range of forbs, many of which are weedy species, cultivated crops or greenhouse plants. They include members of the Amaranthaceae, Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, Balsaminaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Liliaceae, Leguminosae, Scrophulariaceae and Solanaceae (Chittenden, 1914; Covell, 1984. Heppner, 2007; Robinson et al., 2010; Beadle and Leckie, 2012). Host species that are found in North Carolina include Smooth Pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus), Spiny Amaranth (A. spinosus), Slender Amaranth (A. viridis), False Daisy (Eclipta prostrata), Garden Balsam (Impatiens balsamina), Japanese Privet (Ligustrum japonicum), Canada Lily (Lilium canadense), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and Potato (Solanum tuberosum). - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and are occasionally seen nectaring on flowers.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Fields, Gardens, and Ruderal Habitats

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S5

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments: This species has a cosmopolitan distribution and does not appear to be particularly associated with any native habitats in North Carolina.

Photo Gallery for Hymenia perspectalis - Spotted Beet Webworm Moth

157 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-10-23 Pender Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-10-20 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-10-20 Pender Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-10-17 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-10-13 Watauga Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-10-13 Watauga Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: G. Newman on 2025-10-12 Onslow Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-27 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-20 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-09-09 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-07 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-09-05 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-04 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2025-08-25 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2025-08-25 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-23 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Marilyn Westphal and Becky Elkin on 2025-08-17 Henderson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-08-16 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-07-29 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-28 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-20 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-15 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-05-06 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-11-25 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-11-18 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-11-18 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-11-04 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George on 2024-11-01 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-10-30 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-10-23 Madison Co. Comment: