Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGeometridae Members: Pero Members: 170 NC Records

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

Pero morrisonariaPero morrisonariaPero morrisonaria
view caption 		Pero morrisonaria
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Geometroidea		 Family:
Geometridae		Subfamily:
Ennominae		Tribe:
Azelinini		P3 Number:
91a1242		 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 Resources: 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.
Pero morrisonariaAlamance 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: 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 on a variety of conifers and possibly some hardwood species. Reported hosts include fir (Abies), larch (Larix), spruce (Picea), pine (Pinus), and hemlock (Tsuga) (Wagner et al., 2001; Maier et al., 2004). Wagner et al. (2001) write that reports from birch and other hardwoods may be 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 SNR [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

 43 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-26
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-06-25
Mitchell Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-18
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-27
Yancey Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-27
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-06-25
Yancey Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Owen McConnell and Simpson Eason on 2024-06-19
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-06-19
Madison Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: John Petranka on 2024-06-19
Watauga Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: John Petranka on 2024-06-19
Watauga Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-06-07
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-06-03
Madison Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-05-27
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-05-24
Graham Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-05-16
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-15
Madison Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-14
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-13
Madison Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-12
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Avery Young on 2023-09-25
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Avery Young on 2023-09-25
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Avery Young on 2023-09-25
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-31
Swain Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-07-27
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: David George, Ed Corey on 2023-06-17
Avery Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: David George on 2023-06-16
Avery Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Richard Teper on 2022-06-26
Avery Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Richard Teper on 2022-06-14
Jackson Co.
Comment:
Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-06-14
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Pero morrisonariaRecorded by: tom ward on 2021-06-14
Buncombe Co.
Comment: