Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFCrambidae Members: Herpetogramma Members: 140 NC Records

Herpetogramma thestealis (Walker, 1859) - Zigzag Herpetogramma

Herpetogramma thestealis
view caption 		Herpetogramma thestealis
view caption 		Herpetogramma thestealis
view caption 		Herpetogramma thestealis
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Pyraloidea		 Family:
Crambidae		Subfamily:
Pyraustinae		Tribe:
Spilomelini		P3 Number:
80a1027		 MONA Number:
5277.00		 MONA Synonym:
Herpetogramma abdominalis
Comments: Over 20 species of Herpetogramma have been described from North America that are based mostly on external morphology. The most recent treatment consolidates these into only nine species (Solis, 2010) and all nine occur in North Carolina. In particular, H. abdominalis is a previously recognized species that occurs in North Carolina, but is now treated as a junior synonym of H. thestealis.
Species Status: "In all these, females are much more difficult" (Scholtens, 2017).
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Solis (2010)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The following description is based in part on that of Handfield and Handfield (2021). The head, thorax, and abdomen are brown, with the abdomen having a narrow white crossband on the posterior margin of each segment. The ground color of the wings is white and is overlain with a complex pattern of dark-brown marks that are clean-cut. The costa of the forewing has a brown shading that extends from the base to the apex. The terminal line is dark brown, and the fringe varies from whitish to light brown with darker spotting near the base on each vein. A white patch is located between the dark-brown, round, orbicular spot and the dark-brown rectangular reniform spot, while a similar patch occurs between the reniform spot and the postmedial line. A short, brown, longitudinal dash is also usually evident between the orbicular and reniform, but displaced inward towards the middle of the wing.

The antemedial line is weakly sinuate and strikes the costa just anterior to the orbicular spot. The postmedial line projects inward from the costa at around three-fourths the wing length where it meets an outwardly bulged section with three blunt teeth. From there it projects basally towards the orbicular spot for a short distance, then sharply angles away after approaching the reniform spot and runs obliquely inwards to the inner margin where it sometimes joins the antemedial line. A prominent, toothed, dark-brown subterminal line follows the postmedial line and separates a whitish zone between the postmedial and subterminal lines from a zone of heavy brown dusting between the subterminal line and the outer margin. The hindwing has reduced brown dusting in the subterminal region, lacks the antemedial line, and has a discal spot. The postmedial line and subterminal lines are similar to the ones on the forewing. The fringe is white with brown spotting at the base, and there is a well-defined dark brown terminal line.

Handfield and Handfield (2021) reported that a light form exists that is similar to the dark form described above, except that the lines, markings, and wings are paler, especially in the subterminal area, which is yellowish-brown and contrasts with the gray-brown terminal line and deeply-scalloped subterminal line.

Herpetogramma pertextalis is similar to H. thestealis in terms of overall patterning, but the latter is darker overall, with a sharp contrast between the dark brown subterminal shade on the forewing and the whitish area between it and the postmedial line. The subterminal shade also noticeably widens as it approaches the costa, with the dark, inward-projecting tooth next to the costa often touching or nearly touching the postmedial line. Herpetogramma thestealis also has a whitish ground color, versus a more light yellowish-tan ground in H. pertextalis, and often has a violet or bluish iridescent sheen that is lacking in H. pertextalis. Finally, the inwardly projecting teeth on the subterminal line are finally tapered and less blunt than those of H. pertextalis. Size differences are also helpful, with H. thestealis being significantly larger than H. pertextalis (wingspan 30-35 mm versus 21-23 mm).
Wingspan: 30–35 mm for males; 29–31 mm for females (Handfield and Handfield, 2021); 28-35 mm (Forbes, 1923).
Adult Structural Features: Handfield and Handfield (2011) provide descriptions and illustrations of the male and female genitalia.
Genitalia and other structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
Immatures and Development: Very little is known about the larval life history. The larvae are leaf tiers or leaf folders. Depending on the host plant, they may either fold a single leaf over to form a feeding shelter, or individually bundle together two or more leaves to form a shelter. The larva feeds in or or near the shelter and produces a messy mass of dark frass. John Petranka found a shelter in Orange County that was constructed of several leaves of Hypericum punctatum that were tied together. The larva fed within the shelter, with the pupal stage lasting about two weeks.

The late instar larvae have dirty, yellowish-green bodies and a pale, yellowish head capsule. The prothoracic shield has a pair of large dark-brown to blackish lateral spots that are followed by a two pairs of smaller dark-brown spots on the first body segment, with each pair often touching each other to resemble the figure '8'.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Herpetogramma thestealis is widely distributed across North America, including in California, the Pacific Northwest, the eastern U.S. and across most of southern Canada from British Columbia eastward to Prince Edward Island. In the eastern U.S., the range extends from Maine to southern Florida, and westward to Louisiana, eastern Oklahoma, eastern Kansas, eastern Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. This species occurs statewide in North Carolina, but is relatively uncommon in the Coastal Plain.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Herpetogramma thestealisAlamance 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.