Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFLasiocampidae Members: Tolype Members: 123 NC Records

Tolype velleda (Stoll, 1791) - Large Tolype

Tolype velledaTolype velledaTolype velledaTolype velleda
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Bombycoidea		 Family:
Lasiocampidae		Subfamily:
Macromphaliinae		P3 Number:
870021		 MONA Number:
7670.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Strongly patterned in pure white and dark gray. The head, sides of the thorax and legs are covered with long fluffy white scales. The disc of the thorax is contrastingly black. The forewings are banded with dark gray with intervening narrower bands of paler gray; the veins are white. In this species, the subterminal band is typically much darker than the medial dark band. Tolype notialis is similar in color and pattern but is much smaller. The medial and subterminal bands are usually both dark and the subterminal is more undulating, with two large inward bulges, and meets the costa at a more perpendicular angle (Covell, 1984). Tolype laricis and T. minta are similar in size to notialis but with much of the pattern obscured by black in laricis and much paler in minta.
Wingspan: 30-50 mm (Forbes, 1920); 32-59 mm (Covell, 1984)
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.
Tolype velledaAlamance 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.
Immature 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: immatures.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Woodlands and forests (Wagner, 2005). We have records from a wide range of forested habitats, from the barrier islands to Mt. Mitchell. Bottomlands, xeric sandhills, and cove forests are all used but few, if any, open habitats or conifer-dominated sites.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous, feeding on many species of hardwood trees and shrubs, including apple (Malus), ash (Fraxinus), aspen (Populus), basswood (Tilia), beech (Fagus), birch (Betula), cherry (Prunus), and oak (Quercus) (Wagner, 2005). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Hardwood Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S5]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Tolype velleda - Large Tolype

 54 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-25
Brunswick Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2025-10-15
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2025-10-15
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-10-14
Watauga Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-10-14
Watauga Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Nora Murdock on 2025-10-09
Henderson Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-10-08
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Marilyn Westphal and Becky Elkin on 2025-08-17
Henderson Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Marilyn Westphal and Becky Elkin on 2025-08-17
Henderson Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-10-22
Wayne Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Lisa Renfro on 2024-10-19
Union Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-10-14
Graham Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-10-13
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-10-06
Orange Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-10-02
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2023-10-30
Davidson Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2023-10-27
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2023-10-11
Graham Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2023-10-01
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin, Ivanna Knox, Marietta Shattelroe and Avery Young on 2023-09-21
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2022-10-30
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2022-10-29
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2022-10-26
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2022-10-25
Davidson Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2022-10-25
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Russell Oates on 2022-10-15
Yancey Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-07-22
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: tom ward on 2020-10-07
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Tolype velleda
Recorded by: Guy McGrane on 2017-10-11
Watauga Co.
Comment: 		Tolype velleda
Recorded by: F. Williams, S. Williams, J. Willaims on 2015-10-25
Burke Co.
Comment: