Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Erebidae Members:	Clemensia Members:	717 NC Records

Clemensia albata Packard, 1864 - Little White Lichen Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Erebidae

Subfamily:
Arctiinae

Tribe:
Lithosiini

P3 Number:
930215

MONA Number:
8098.00

Comments: One of three species in this genus that occur in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010). All three are found in North Carolina.

Species Status: All three North American species have been bar-coded and are distinct (Schmidt and Sullivan, 2018)

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Forbes (1960); Schmidt and Sullivan (2018)

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Wagner (2005)

Adult Markings: Small with relatively broad wings; white or dingy yellow ground color on the forewings mottled with darker gray or brown, usually with a prominent dark reniform spot. Fairly easy to recognize over most of its range but can be confused with Clemensia umbrata in the Mountans and C. ochreata in the Coastal Plain; some of the Nolidae are also similar in size and overall color but usually lack the dark reniform seen in albata.

Forewing Length: 10.8 mm, males; 10.77 mm, average (Schmidt and Sullivan, 2018)

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: Larvae are greenish with dark mottling, a pale mid-dorsal stripe, and sparse setae (from illustration in Wagner, 2005).

Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Found throughout the state

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
Flight Comments: Probably just two flights in the Mountains but three over the rest of the state

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Our records come from virtually all types of forested or wooded habitats in the state, including martime forests, peatlands, Longleaf Pine communities, floodplain forests, mesic slopes, and dry ridgetops

Larval Host Plants: Larvae are stenophagous, feeding primarily on bark algae (Protococcus viridis) (McCabe, 1981). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View

Observation Methods: Comes well to blacklights, with up to 130 collected in a single trap; three of our records have been obtained from bait

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General 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: Widespread, ubiquitous, and using many types of habitat, this species is considered secure in North Carolina

Photo Gallery for Clemensia albata - Little White Lichen Moth

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

	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-05 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, David Cheng, Patrick Coin on 2025-06-29 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-23 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2025-06-18 Cumberland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2025-06-18 Cumberland Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-06-08 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2025-05-20 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-18 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2025-04-15 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-04-15 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, John Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-04-14 Bladen Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2025-04-05 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-04-03 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-03-31 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-11-18 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-27 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-09-21 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-09-21 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-20 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-09-11 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2024-09-07 Alamance Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-05 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-05 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-09-04 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-30 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-26 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-23 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Kevin Bischof on 2024-08-07 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-06 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-05 Transylvania Co. Comment: