Moths of North Carolina
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Dasychira Members:
93 NC Records

Dasychira meridionalis (Barnes & McDunnough, 1913) - Southern Tussock Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: LymantriinaeTribe: OrgyiiniP3 Number: 930150.00 MONA Number: 8298.00
Comments: One of 16 species in this genus that occur in North America, 10 of which have been recorded in North Carolina. Ferguson (1978) treated meridionalis as a full species; formerly, it was considered a subspecies of basiflava (e.g., in Forbes, 1948). Ferguson also described three subspecies of meridionalis, of which D. meridionalis memorata occurs in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954); Ferguson (1978)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Both Forbes (1948) and Ferguson (1978) provide keys to the larvae.                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Dasychira meridionalis is similar in color and pattern to D. basiflava but slightly smaller: the length of the forewing for the paratypes ranges between 13 and 17 mm for males (up to 18mm in males of basiflava) and 18 to 25 mm for females (Ferguson, 1978). There is a more extensive area of white in the median area than in basiflava; in females, it typically crosses the entire width of the wing. Males are blacker in the basal and postmedian areas than basiflava and the basal orange spot is often obscured. Females also show more contrast between the median area and the rest of the wing. Barred forms appear to be unknown in meridionalis and the postmedian runs straighter than in basiflava, where it is typically finely dentate (Ferguson, 1978).
Adult Structural Features: Dasychira species have two dorsal tufts on their abdomens, whereas Orgyia have just one. Adults lack mouthparts. D. meridionalis cannot be distinguished genitalically in either sex from basiflava.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae of this species have a pair of dark hair pencils at the posterior end but only a short dorsal tuft on A8 rather than a long hair pencil. Larvae of D. basiflava and vagans are similar in this regard but both have lateral black hairs originating only from below the spiracles whereas meridionalis has black club-shaped plumose hairs along the sides of the body arising from tubercles located both above and below the spiracles (see Ferguson, 1978, for details).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Ferguson (1978) thought the dividing line between northern basiflava and southern meridionalis was located somewhere in the middle of North Carolina, giving the range of meridionalis memorata from Southern Pines, NC to northern Florida. Our records seem to agree, indicating that meridionalis occurs primarily in the southern half of the Coastal Plain in North Carolina, including the Fall-line Sandhills, and that basiflava occurs north of the Pamlico Sound in the Coastal Plain as well as the north-central Piedmont and most, if not all, of the Mountains.
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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