Moths of North Carolina
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Pero Members:
153 NC Records

Pero morrisonaria (Hy. Edwards, 1881) - Morrison's Pero Moth


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: EnnominaeTribe: AzelininiP3 Number: 911183.00 MONA Number: 6755.00
Comments: One of nineteen species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Poole, 1987; Pohl et al., 2016), four of which have been recorded in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Structural Features: Males can be distinguished by the wide, truncate tips of their abdomens; in females, the tip is bluntly rounded and a short, conical ovipositor is usually visible. In males, the eighth sternite is bilobed, the features of which are useful for identifying our three members of this genus. In honestaria, the lobes are narrow but rounded at the tip and are separated at their base by a u-shaped gap. In ancentaria, the lobes are wider and more-or-less diverging at the tip and separated by a much narrower cleft at the base. In morrisonaria, the two lobes are widely separated, strongly bifurcated at the tip, and with the outer process somewhat curved (see illustrations in Poole, 1987 and on the Moth Photographers Group website). Male and female genitalia are also distinctive.
Structural photos
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.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: We have records from high elevation forests, including the summits of Mt. Mitchell, Clingman's Dome, and Grandfather Mountain, but also from cove forests and riparian forests at lower elevations, e.g., New River State Park ad Stone Mountain State Park.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed primarily on conifer species. Poole (1987) lists Fir, Spruce, and Hemlock. Wagner et al., 2001) additionally lists Pine and mentions that it has also reported from birch and other hardwoods but possibly in error. - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Montane Cool Mesic Conifer Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 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 associated with Hemlock Forests and Spruce-fir Forests, all of which are under attack from invasive exotic insects and are likely to become even more stressed due to climate change.

 Photo Gallery for Pero morrisonaria - Morrison's Pero Moth

Photos: 24

Recorded by: Avery Young on 2023-09-25
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Avery Young on 2023-09-25
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Avery Young on 2023-09-25
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-31
Swain Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-07-27
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Ed Corey on 2023-06-17
Avery Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George on 2023-06-16
Avery Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Richard Teper on 2022-06-26
Avery Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Richard Teper on 2022-06-14
Jackson Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-06-14
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-06-14
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2021-05-15
Graham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2019-06-07
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-07
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2019-05-26
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-06-03
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: B. Bockhahn, P. Scharf, K. Kittelberger on 2015-06-18
Avery Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: T. Nergart on 2015-05-17
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Steve Hall and Ed Corey on 2015-05-16
Alleghany Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Steve Hall and Ed Corey on 2015-05-16
Alleghany Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2014-05-25
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2013-07-14
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Doug Blatny/Jackie Nelson on 2012-07-03
Ashe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Doug Blatny / Jackie Nelson on 2012-05-27
Ashe Co.
Comment: