Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« »
View PDFGeometridae Members:
Macaria Members:
156 NC Records

Macaria multilineata Packard, 1873 - Many-lined Angle

Macaria multilineataMacaria multilineataMacaria multilineataMacaria multilineata
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: EnnominaeTribe: MacariiniP3 Number: 91a0772 MONA Number: 6353.00 MONA Synonym: Semiothisa multilineata
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: Multilineata is included in the cedar-feeding multilineata species group by Ferguson (2008), of which only multilineata occurs in North Carolina (the other two occur in Bermuda and Jamaica, although the Bermudan species may now be extinct, the victim of an introduced scale insect that destroyed its host plant populations of Bermudan Cedar -- Ferguson, 2008)
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984; as Semiothisa multilineata)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Ferguson (2008)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Maier et al. (2013)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A reddish-brown Angle that is prominently striped with multiple straight and parallel lines, on both pairs of wings and on both on the upper and lower surfaces of the wings. A few other Macaria also have fairly straight lines, e.g., fissinotata and aequiferaria, but not as many or as markedly parallel as in multilineata.
Wingspan: 25 mm (Forbes, 1948)
Adult Structural Features: Males possess foveae and antennae that are subpectinate (Ferguson, 2008).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae have a greenish head and body with broken white subdorsal and spiracular stripes (Maier et al., 2013). They are similar to the larvae of Digrammia continuata, which also feed on cedars, but lack the reddish marks on the spiracles that are found in that species (Maier et al., 2013).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: As currently documented, multilineata ranges from the Blue Ridge Escarpment to the Outer Coastal Plain, but with records missing from the Barrier Islands and from the Mountains west of the escarpment.
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
Immature 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: Primarily a spring through summer species, with no clear indication that there are multiple broods in North Carolina.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Over most of the Coastal Plain, populations of multilineata are associated with Atlantic White Cedars, which occurs in peatland habitats, including both the large peat domes and peat-filled Carolina Bays in the Outer Coastal Plain and the smaller expanses of streamhead peatlands found in the Fall-line Sandhills. In the Piedmont and lower Mountains, populations are associated with Eastern Red Cedar, which occurs in both naturally occurring glades and open woodlands, particularly where substrates of mafic rock exist, but also with woodland edges, old fields, and other successional habitats. Although a number of surveys have been conducted on the North Carolina Barrier Islands, no populations of multilineata have yet been found in association with Southern Red Cedar, which is confined to tidewater habitats.
Larval Host Plants: Stenophagous, feeding on cedars, including Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana), Southern Red Cedar (J. silicicola), and Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides), all of which occur in North Carolina, as well as Northern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis), which occurs outside our area (Wagner et al., 2001; Ferguson, 2008; Maier et al., 2013). - View
Observation Methods: Comes well to 15 watt blacklights but we do not have any records from either bait or flowers.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Cedar Woodlands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 [S5]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: Populations associated with peatland habitats in the Coastal Plain are threatened by habitat drainage and conversion, direct commercial exploitation of Atlantic White Cedar, loss of wildfires that play a role in regenerating stands of White Cedar, and destruction of coastal peat domes by sea level rise and saltwater intrusion. Habitats used by this species in the Piedmont are not threatened, however, given that Eastern Red Cedar thrives in successeional habitats. In at least that region of the state, multilineata appears to be secure.

 Photo Gallery for Macaria multilineata - Many-lined Angle

62 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2024-09-22
Davidson Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2024-09-09
Davidson Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2024-09-08
Davidson Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George on 2024-08-31
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2024-05-20
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Stephen Hall, David George, and David Bradley on 2024-05-07
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2024-04-29
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-11-17
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment: On Eastern Redcedar.
Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-11-17
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment: On Eastern Redcedar. 		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-11-17
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment: On Eastern Redcedar.
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-08-18
Caswell Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-26
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Steve Hall, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-22
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-07-16
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2023-07-06
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-07-02
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-06-14
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2023-06-06
Alleghany Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-06-03
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2023-05-22
Davidson Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2023-05-21
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-05-17
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Steve Hall, David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-04-29
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-04-29
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Steve Hall and David George on 2023-04-26
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Steve Hall and David George on 2023-04-26
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2023-04-26
Davidson Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2023-04-17
Davidson Co.
Comment: