Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« Home »
View PDFCrambidae Members: Rupela Members: 5 NC Records

Rupela tinctella (Walker, 1863) - Satin Rupela

Rupela tinctella
view caption
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Pyraloidea		 Family:
Crambidae		Subfamily:
Schoenobiinae		Tribe:
[Schoenobiini]		P3 Number:
80a1279		 MONA Number:
5311.00
Comments: Heinrich (1937) examined the genitalia of what were thought to be two or three white species of Rupela and was surprised to find that these constituted a group of at least 18 cryptic species with very distinctive genitalia. Only two species are known from North Carolina and in most cases they require the examination of genitalia for identification.
Species Status: "I would always dissect Rupela" (Scholtens, 2017)
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Only two species of R. segrega are known from North Carolina. The males and females of R. segrega are identical, with both having an elongated abdomen and the head, thorax, abdomen, and wings white. In contrast, males of our second species, Rupela tinctella, are uniformly brown, while the females are white and indistinguishable from the males and females of R. segrega. Genitalia are required to identify the white forms, while any brown Rupela can be safely assigned to R. tinctella.
Wingspan: 25-42 mm (Heinreich, 1937).
Structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable only by close inspection of structural features or by DNA analysis.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Rupela tinctella is a wide-ranging species that has been documented from southern South America northward through Central America and the Caribbean to the southeastern U.S. where it occurs in coastal habitats from southeastern Texas eastward along the Gulf Coast states to southern Florida and northward to Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Maryland.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Rupela tinctellaAlamance 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%20Hanover 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.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
Larval Host Plants: The hosts are apparently undocumented for most species in this genus, but two that have been recorded feed on grasses, including Echinochloa and (Heinrich, 1937). - View
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: [W-PK]
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR SNR [S1S2]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Rupela tinctella - Satin Rupela

Photos: 1
Rupela tinctellaRecorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 0000-00-00
Carteret Co.
Comment: