Moths of North Carolina
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Phyllodesma Members:
79 NC Records

Phyllodesma americana (Harris, 1841) - Lappet Moth

Phyllodesma americanaPhyllodesma americanaPhyllodesma americanaPhyllodesma americana
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Bombycoidea		 Family:
Lasiocampidae		Subfamily:
Lasiocampinae		Tribe:
Gastropachini		P3 Number:
870003		 MONA Number:
7687.00		 Other Common Names:
American Lappet Moth, Southern Lappet Moth
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
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.
Phyllodesma americana
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
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Woodlands and forests (Wagner, 2005). North Carolina records come come predominately from mesic hardwood forests.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous, feeding on many hardwood trees and shrubs. Wagner (2005) specifically lists alder (Alnus), apple (Malus), birch (Betula), cherry (Prunus), ironwood (Carpinus), oak (Quercus), poplar (Populus), and willow (Salix). In North Carolina, J.B. Sullivan reared larvae from Bluejack Oak (Quercus incana) and Turkey Oak (Q. laevis). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Wet-Mesic Hardwood 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: Records are fairly sparse for what is a widespread species that uses a variety of common habitats. It's early flight period may cause it to be undersampled.

 Photo Gallery for Phyllodesma americana - Lappet Moth

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

Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-04-02
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2025-03-28
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2025-03-28
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, Kaitlyn Elliott on 2025-03-23
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-05-16
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-03-31
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-03-28
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: M. Prinz on 2024-03-27
Moore Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Ann Weinrich and Owen McConnell on 2024-03-25
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-03-20
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Andrew W. Jones on 2024-03-05
Polk Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Andrew W. Jones on 2024-03-05
Polk Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-04-05
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: B bockhahn on 2023-04-04
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2023-03-27
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2023-03-16
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2023-03-01
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2023-02-24
Cumberland Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2023-02-24
Cumberland Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-04-29
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-04-22
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-04-11
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-03-31
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-04-26
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-04-14
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-04-09
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-03-24
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Morgan Freese on 2021-03-23
New Hanover Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Morgan Freese on 2021-03-23
New Hanover Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David L. Heavner on 2021-02-24
Chatham Co.
Comment: