Moths of North Carolina
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314 NC Records

Palpita magniferalis (Walker, 1861) - Splendid Palpita Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Pyraloidea Family: CrambidaeSubfamily: PyraustinaeTribe: SpilomeliniP3 Number: 801325.00 MONA Number: 5226.00
Comments: One of twelve species in this genus recorded in North America north of Mexico (Scholtens and Solis, 2015). Munroe (1952) placed magniferalis in his Illibalis Species Group, which in North Carolina also includes arsaltealis, illibalis, freemanalis, and aenescentalis.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Munroe (1952)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is based in part on that on Munroe (1952). The labial palp is fuscous and a little longer than the eye, while the frons is dark gray with a white lateral stripe adjacent to the eye. The antenna is dark gray and the vertex pale gray. The thorax and abdomen are pale gray and irregularly marked with fuscous or black shading. The legs are grayish white, and all tibiae and tarsi are banded with fuscous. The forewing has a silvery gray to dull whitish ground color that is mostly masked by brown to blackish scales. In North Carolina specimens, patches of black scales or dense black shading are present on the basal third of the wing, and as a large, diffuse band beyond the cell and near the middle of the wing. The band commonly extends from the costa to the inner margin and is followed by a broad zone of light brown dusting on the apical third. The orbicular and reniform spots are black, but often obscured by the black shading. The subterminal area often has diffuse blackish spotting that is followed by a thin, black terminal line. The fringe is dusky and often weakly checkered with blackish marks. The hindwing is translucent and varies from pale gray to light tan or brown. It has a weak fuscous discocellular line and varying amounts of diffuse speckling or spotting over most of the wing. The terminal line is thin and black, while the fringe is dusky and often weakly checkered with blackish marks.

Individuals of this species exhibit substantial variation in the degree of expression of the darker marks and shading, so expect deviations from the general description above. Munroe (1952) noted that females tend to have more restricted dark markings than the males.
Forewing Length: 12-13 mm (Munroe,1952)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
Immatures and Development: The larvae feed on ash leaves, but details of the larval life history are undocumented. The early instars are light green and somewhat translucent, with an amber-colored head. The older instars are similar, but have a dorsal and dorsolateral row of black dots (pinacula) on each side of the abdomen.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Palpita magniferalis has been documented across much of southern Canada (British Columbia to Nova Scotia) and throughout most of the eastern U.S. where the range extends from Maine to southern Florida, then westward across the Gulf Coast states to eastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, eastern Nebraska, Minnesota and eastern North Dakota. This species occurs statewide in North Carolina, although it is relatively uncommon in the western Coastal Plain.
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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