Moths of North Carolina
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Macaria Members:
174 NC Records

Macaria minorata Packard, 1873 - Minor Angle

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: EnnominaeTribe: MacariiniP3 Number: 910764.00 MONA Number: 6340.00 MONA Synonym: Semiothisa minorata
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: Minorata is included in the conifer-feeding bicolorata species group by Ferguson (2008), of which bisignata, bicolorata, distribuaria, transitaria, and aeqiferaria are the other members that occur in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984; as Semiothisa minorata); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Ferguson (2008)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Wagner et al. (2001)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A small, brown Angle -- the smallest of our species of Macaria (forewing length typically 10-12 mm) -- with the angled hindwings and sub-falcate forewings typical of this genus. The lines on the forewing are typically weak or missing, usually represented only by dark spots on the costal margin; the spot patch on the subterminal at the end of the cell is also absent. The forewings are usually evenly shaded in brown, with a band of reddish brown located between the postmedian and subterminal lines. The reddish band is followed by a terminal zone that has the same ground color as the medial and basal areas. Minorata is similar in pattern and coloration to transitaria, but is noticeably smaller and usually has hindwings that are much paler than the forewings (Ferguson, 2008).
Wingspan: 18-23 mm (Forbes, 1948)
Forewing Length: 10-12 mm, males; 12-13 mm, females (Ferguson, 2008)
Adult Structural Features: The antennae of the male are moderately bipectinate (Ferguson, 2008) and the genitalia are distinctly different from the rest of this species group (see Ferguson for details).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: With the exception of aequiferaria, larvae of the bicolorata species group are all similar to one another: glossy green or reddish with cream-colored subdorsal and subspiracular stripes that run the length of the body (see Wagner et al., 2001). Since both minorata and bisignata feed on White Pine, larvae need to be reared to adulthood to determine their species. However, they both can be distinguished from the larvae of another White Pine feeding species, Macaria pinistrobata, which has thin dark stripes located beneath the pale subspiracular line (Wagner et al., 2001).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Restricted to the Mountains (the one Piedmont record was from a site where no White Pines occur and probably represents a mistaken transitaria).
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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