Moths of North Carolina
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166 NC Records

Haploa lecontei (Guérin-Méneville, 1844) - Leconte's Haploa Moth


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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: ArctiinaeTribe: ArctiiniP3 Number: 930345.00 MONA Number: 8111.00
Comments: One of six species currently recognized in North America, all of which occur in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1960)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1960); Wagner (2005)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: One of four species of Haploa that have all white hindwings. The forewings are white and outlined on all margins with black (usually interrupted at the wing angles). Lecontei usually has a strong black line running from the outer margin just below the apex to the inner margin above the anal angle, where there is usually a strong dark blotch or widening of the marginal line. Forms where this postmedial line is the only one crossing the inner part of the wing are unmistakeble. However, there is often a dark line or spur in the antemedian area, as in confusa, connecting the costal and inner margins when complete. As in contigua and confusa, a line or spur may exist in the postmedial area running from beyond the mid-point on the costa to the line that runs from the outer margin to the inner margin. The darkest forms, where all of these lines are well-developed, are particularly similar to confusa, which is smaller, usually browner, and has a white spot in the botch on the inner margin. All-white forms may be indistinguishable from similar forms in the other species. Specimens are occasionally encountered in North Carolina that have a faint orangish-white ground color on the forewings and hindwings instead of the pure white ground that is more typical of this species.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae are yellow and black striped with sparse hair and warts, as is true for several other Haploas (Forbes, 1960; Wagner, 2005). In lecontei, the mid-dorsal and spiracular stripes consist of bright yellow and white spots (Wagner, 2005).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: The majority of records come from the Mountains but there are also records (several historic) from the eastern Piedmont and Fall-line Sandhills.
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)

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