Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFErebidae Members: Apantesis Members: 27 NC Records

Apantesis phyllira (Drury, 1773) - Phyllira Tiger Moth

Apantesis phylliraApantesis phylliraApantesis phylliraApantesis phyllira
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Erebidae		Subfamily:
Arctiinae		Tribe:
Arctiini		P3 Number:
930242		 MONA Number:
8194.00		 MONA Synonym:
Grammia phyllira
Comments: The genus Apantesis is represented by 43 species in North America, including 13 species in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1960); Schmidt (2009)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1960); Wagner (2005)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized, boldly marked Tiger Moth that is fairly easy to identify based on good quality photographs showing both the fore- and hindwings. Both sexes are similar to male A. placentia but are slightly smaller and narrower-winged. Hind-wings are crimson, with a prominent black spot in the medial area and with a row of large spots in the sub-terminal area, similar to that in A. parthenice but constrasting with the much thinner line of A. placentia. The form typically found in our area lacks fine vein lines on the forewings, although forms with these lines -- formerly identified as A. oithonia -- can occur in all populations of this species (see Schmidt, 2009). Individuals with that pattern are similar to A. parthenice, but are much smaller (in our area) and possess a pinkish rather than cream color on the undersides of the forewings; the post-median is also much straighter in A. phyllira than in A. parthenice. Typical individuals possess broad yellow bands (using the terminology of Schmidt, 2009) along the sub-cubital, medial, post-medial, and sub-terminal lines, and variably along the costa and inner margin. These bands are much better developed than in A. figurata (which also differs in hindwing pattern) but are comparable to those found in male A. placentia. The medial line, however, is more curved in A. phyllira, particularly towards the costa and meets the costa at an acute angle, unlike that of A. placentia, where the medial is straight and meets the costa at a right angle (Forbes, 1960; Covell, 1984). The distance between the costal intersections of the medial and post-medial lines is only about 2x the distance between the intersections of the medial and post-medial with the sub-cubital, whereas it is about 3-4x the distance in placentia (Schmidt, 2009). Schmidt also notes that the last abdominal segment is black and pale in A. phyllira but solid black in A. placentia.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
Immatures and Development: Larvae are black with dark bristles and possess a beaded mid-dorsal stripe, consisting of one dot per segment located in the middle of the segments (Forbes, 1960). This pattern is very similar to that of A. figurata, however, and Apantesis larvae are generally similar to one another (Wagner, 2005), and should be reared in order to determine their identity.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: May occur sparsely over much of the state but has not yet been recorded in the northern Coastal Plain, southern mountains, or from the Outer Banks and other barrier islands
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Apantesis phyllira
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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