Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFErebidae Members: Dasychira Members: 25 NC Records

Dasychira plagiata (Walker, 1865) - Northern Pine Tussock Moth

Dasychira plagiataDasychira plagiata
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Erebidae		Subfamily:
Lymantriinae		Tribe:
Orgyiini		P3 Number:
930156		 MONA Number:
8304.00		 Other Common Name:
Northern Conifer Tussock Moth
Comments: One of 16 species in this genus that occur in North America, 10 of which have been recorded in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1948) lumps both plagiata and pinicola under pini. Technical Description, Immature Stages: Ferguson (1978) provides a key to the larvae.                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Males are fairly uniformly gray to grayish-brown, with little contrast between the median area and the basal and subterminal areas. As in manto, the reniform is bounded by white patches, but the lines are much thinner in plagiata than manto (Forbes, 1948). Both lines are dentate and the postmedian is sinuous, becoming concave towards the inner margin. Ferguson (1978) mentions that the postmedian is commonly recurved opposite the cell and meets the costa at an acute angle. In some forms, there is a basal dash, but it rarely reaches the antemedian (Forbes, 1948). Females are larger but similarly marked.
Adult Structural Features: Dasychira species have two dorsal tufts on their abdomens, whereas Orgyia have just one. Adults lack mouthparts. Male genitalia differ from manto in the shape of the valve, uncus, and juxta (Ferguson, 1978). Females also differ from manto in the form of the anterior apophyses and in the degree of sclerotization of the ventral pouch posterior to the ostium (Ferguson, 1978).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae are dark gray with reddish warts and a full complement of black hair pencils: two anteriorally and three posteriorally. A single row of black, plumose, clavate hairs runs along the sides of the thorax and abdomen (Ferguson, 1978). Larvae of manto are similar but have black rather than brown barbed hairs and have generally longer, fuller hair pencils; longer spines; and darker dorsal tufts (Ferguson, 1978).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: This a northern species that is essentially confined the Mountains in North Carolina. One record exists from Lake James State Park, however, which is located in the Piedmont but close to the base of the Blue Ridge Escarpment.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Dasychira plagiataAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.