Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
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View PDFPyralidae Members: Macalla Members: 31 NC Records

Macalla zelleri (Grote, 1876) - Zeller's Macalla

Macalla zelleriMacalla zelleriMacalla zelleri
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Pyraloidea		 Family:
Pyralidae		Subfamily:
Epipaschiinae		Tribe:
[Epipaschiini]		P3 Number:
80a0617		 MONA Number:
5579.00		 Other Common Name:
Zeller's Epipaschia Moth
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Macalla zelleriAlamance 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: Our three records come from a non-riverine swamp forest in the Coastal Plain and a dry oak-hickory forest and wet-mesic hardwood forest in the Piedmont.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on Toxicodendron, including Poison-ivy (T. radicans) and Atlantic Poison-oak (T. pubescens) (Dyar, 1904; Robinson et al., 2010). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Sumac Thickets and Poison Ivy Tangles
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S3S4
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 far less common than its host plants, although it does not seem to be geographically restricted (see map on MPG).

 Photo Gallery for Macalla zelleri - Zeller's Macalla

Photos: 17
Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Larry Chen, Sarah Toner, Joye Zhou on 2025-06-20
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-05-24
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-05-24
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-23
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, John Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-09
Cumberland Co.
Comment: 		Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2025-05-09
Cumberland Co.
Comment:
Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Brian Bockhahn, Jim Petranka, John Petranka, Becky Elkin on 2025-05-09
Cumberland Co.
Comment: 		Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: John Petranka and Jim Petranka on 2023-06-14
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Bo Sullivan on 2023-06-13
Scotland Co.
Comment: 		Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and John Petranka on 2023-05-18
Scotland Co.
Comment:
Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan, and Steve Hall on 2022-07-25
Scotland Co.
Comment: 		Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-08-01
Wake Co.
Comment:
Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan and Steve Hall on 2021-06-09
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2018-05-28
Cabarrus Co.
Comment:
Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Julie Tuttle on 2017-05-30
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: Lenny Lampel on 2013-06-07
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment:
Macalla zelleri
Recorded by: T. DeSantis on 2012-07-16
Camden Co.
Comment: