Moths of North Carolina
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Macaria Members:
320 NC Records

Macaria aequiferaria Walker, 1861 - Woody Angle


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: EnnominaeTribe: MacariiniP3 Number: 910755.00 MONA Number: 6335.00 MONA Synonym: Semiothisa aequiferaria
Comments: This is one of 73 species in this genus that occur in North America, with 17 species occurring in North Carolina. In the latest checklist of North American Lepidoptera (Pohl and Nanz, 2023), North American members of the genus Speranza and Epelis were treated as junior synonyms of Macaria.
Species Status: Aequiferaria is included in the conifer-feeding bicolorata species group by Ferguson (2008), of which bisignata, bicolorata, transitaria, distribuaria, and minorata are the other members that occur in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984; as Semiothisa aequiferaria); Leckie and Beadle (2018)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Ferguson (2008)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Ferguson (2008)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A moderately small, dark gray to yellowish tan Geometrid. Pattern and coloration are similar to Macaria aemulataria, with which it occurs in swamps containing a mixture of Bald Cypress and Red Maple. In addition to the structural features of the males, the spring form of aequiferaria is much darker gray than aemulataria and the paler summer form is usually more yellowish, often with the subterminal area darker than the basal area. Females of the summer form, however, may be very similar to those of aemulataria but usually have a shallower and less conspicuously darkened subapical notch on the outer margin; the spot patch on the subterminal line is also usually not as divided by the yellow vein lines (Ferguson, 2008). As in other members of this species group, the head is red or ocher, contrasting with the gray or brown thorax and abdomen.
Adult Structural Features: Males possess a fovea, which can usually be seen in good quality, well-lit photos; this is missing from aemulataria and other Macaria species that occur in the Coastal Plain. They also possess strongly serrate or bipectinate (according to Ferguson, 2008) antennae; although the antennae of aemulataria males are also serrate, they are much less so; the two can usually be easily separated when seen side by side. Unlike aemulataria males, the hind tibiae are conspicuously swollen in aequiferaria and the metatarsus is reduced in size. A pecten is also present on the third abdominal sternite in aequiferaria but is missing in aemulataria (Ferguson, 2008).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae are green or brown but have a distinctive pattern of stripes and dark sport or bars (Ferguson, 2008). The subdorsal line is pure white and partially constricted above by a series of black dashes and bounded below by a wide dark band. A pale lateral stripe also exists, broken by a series of black blotches (see Ferguson, 2008, for an illustration and more details).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: The majority of our records come from cypress-containing habitats in the Coastal Plain. However, it is also found in the eastern portion of the Piedmont in areas where cypress occurs naturally (e.g., along the Tar River near Louisburg) or from the edges of large reservoirs (e.g., Lake Gaston and Kerr Lake) where cypress may have been introduced.
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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