Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Erebidae Members:	Pyrrharctia Members:	324 NC Records

Pyrrharctia isabella (J.E. Smith, 1797) - Isabella Tiger Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Erebidae

Subfamily:
Arctiinae

Tribe:
Arctiini

P3 Number:
930335

MONA Number:
8129.00

Other Common Names:
Woolly Bear, Banded Woolly Bear

Comments: The only member of its genus north of Mexico

Identification

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

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

Technical Description, Adults: Forbes (1960)

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1960); Wagner (2005)

Adult Markings: The forewings are pointed at the apex and colored apricot-yellow to buff-brown, marked to a varying extent with angulate rows of darker spots or lines. Hind-wings are constrastingly light: salmon-tinted in females and pale whitish in males, also marked with darker spots. Head and thorax are darker brown; the abdomen is colored similarly to the forewings and has a series of dark, dorsal spots. Legs are black with bright scarlet tibiae.

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

Immatures and Development: Caterpillars are the familiar Wooly Bears, with dark brown head- and tail-ends with rusty red in between.

Larvae ID Requirements: Unmistakable and widely known.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Probably occurs statewide

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
Immature 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: Reported to have two broods over most of the East (Forbes, 1960; Wagner, 2005). Our records may be consistent with that pattern but adults appear to be present throughout most of the growing season.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Wagner (2005) lists habitats as including "fields, bottomlands, woodlands, and forests." Our records come primarily from open areas, ranging from beach dunes to high-elevation fields and clearings; larvae are often seen in old-field habitats. We have very few records, however, from naturally open Longleaf Pine savannas, flatwoods, and sandhills, or from peatland habitats, possibly indicating a lack of fire-tolerance. On the other hand, we have at least some records from forested habitats, although usually where fields are located nearby or where there is a dense ground-cover of herbaceous species (e.g., in forested sedge-mires in the lower Roanoke River floodplain).

Larval Host Plants: Larvae are highly polyphagous, feeding on many low-growing forbs and graminoids (including many crop species), as well as woody plants, including some tree species (Wagner, 2005). Reported hosts include maple (Acer), asters, birch (Betula), Cantaloupe (Cucumis melo), cotton (Gossypium), grasses, sunflower (Helianthus), lettuce (Lactuca), Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia), beans (Phaseolus), Garden Pea (Pisum sativum), plantain (Plantago), Peach (Prunus persica), Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), blackberry (Rubus), meadowsweet (Spiraea), dandelion (Taraxacum), clover (Trifolium), elm (Ulmus), and Corn (Zea mays) (Tietz, 1972; Covell, 1984; Wagner, 2005; Robinson et al., 2010). While larvae are commonly encountered and easily recognizable, they frequently wander from their host plant and actual feeding records are relatively uncommon. Of the hundreds of iNaturalist records from North Carolina, most larvae are not on plants, but of those that are, grasses, dandelion, clover, and other low, weedy plants seem to be the most common. There is a BugGuide record (Eric Noguchi, 2020) of a larva feeding on Lantana in North Carolina. - View

Observation Methods: Comes moderately well to blacklights but not to bait. Larvae are active during the day, and are especially conspicuous when seeking sites for pupation or overwintering.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Successional Fields and Forblands

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: Widely distributed across the state, common, and using a broad range of open habitats, including disturbed areas, this species appears to be secure within the state. It may be somewhat vulnerable, however, to changes in farming practices that reduce the amount of fallow land, including old-field habitats, or to the use of herbicides and pesticides applied both to croplands and tree farms, including recent clearcuts.

Photo Gallery for Pyrrharctia isabella - Isabella Tiger Moth

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

	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-31 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2025-05-13 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2025-04-28 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-04-26 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2025-04-25 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Bonnie Eamick on 2025-04-25 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2025-04-22 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-04-18 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2025-04-05 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2025-04-05 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-11-15 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: B. Bockhahn on 2024-10-09 Macon Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-09-23 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-21 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-09-21 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2024-09-07 Alamance Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-06 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-08-03 Transylvania Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin, Steve Hall, Carol Tingley, Tom Howard on 2024-07-27 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-07-19 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-07-10 Watauga Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-26 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2024-06-25 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-06-24 Watauga Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-24 Yancey Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-23 Yancey Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-23 Yancey Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-22 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-05-28 Graham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-05-24 Madison Co. Comment: