Moths of North Carolina
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Argyria Members:
9 NC Records

Argyria nummulalis Hübner, 1818 - No Common Name


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Pyraloidea Family: CrambidaeSubfamily: CrambinaeTribe: ArgyriiniP3 Number: 800817.00 MONA Number: 5460.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Martinez and Brown (2007)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is a distinctively marked crambid in which the palps, head and thorax vary from brownish-red to brownish-orange. The forewing is satiny-white and boldly contrasts with a narrow, bright, yellowish-orange streak along the inner margin. The streak terminates at the tornus where it is replaced by a prominent, light brown to yellowish-orange fringe. The costal can be either satiny white or have a very faint yellowish-orange dusting or streak. The terminal line is dark-brown and often faint, and the hindwing can vary from dull-white to brownish-black in rare instances. It typically has a whitish fringe and may have a thin terminal line that is orangish-white. This species is unique among our Argyria species in having a prominent, yellowish-orange streak along the inner margin.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larval life history is undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Argyria nummulalis is found in the eastern U.S. from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Coast to southern Florida, and westward along the Gulf Coast to Texas. Specimens have also been documented away from coastal regions in portions of Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, South Carolina, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois and Minnesota. As of 2023, we have a single record from the Blue Ridge, with all others from coastal communities in the east.
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 fly year-round in Florida and from April through September elsewhere. As of 2023, our records range from late-April through early-September.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Our records are mostly from pine savannas and other fire-maintained coastal communities with wetlands. The Blue Ridge record is from Lake Julian.
Larval Host Plants: The host plants are undocumented. Heppner (2007) list the hosts as 'grass' but did not provide any evidence for this. It may simply reflect the tendency for many members of this taxonomic group to use grasses as hosts. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and can be flushed from savannas and other suitable habitats.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Wet, Sandy, Fire-maintained Herblands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S1S3
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species appears to be uncommon throughout its range and is affiliated with wet savannas and other wetland habitats. It appears to be rare in North Carolina, with only seven site records as of 2023. More information is needed on its distribution, abundance and larval life history before we can accurately assess its conservation status.

 Photo Gallery for Argyria nummulalis - No common name

Photos: 4

Recorded by: Mark Shields, Hunter Phillips on 2020-09-07
Pender Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Brian Bockhahn on 2014-08-14
Brunswick Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Steve Hall on 2014-06-23
Pender Co.
Comment: Flushed from savanna grasses		Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 2005-03-07
Carteret Co.
Comment: BOLD specimen: LNC311-05 and LNC310-05; specimen in Centre for Biodiversity Genomics.