Moths of North Carolina
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Orgyia Members:
71 NC Records

Orgyia detrita Guérin, 1831 - Live Oak Tussock Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: LymantriinaeTribe: OrgyiiniP3 Number: 930165.00 MONA Number: 8313.00
Comments: One of ten species in this genus that occur in North America, four of which have been recorded in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Ferguson (1978)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Ferguson (1978); Wagner (2005)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Males are grayish-brown with a somewhat mottled or striate appearance, especially compared to the fairly smooth appearance of leucostigma but not as constrasting or as dark as definita. The tornal spot is typically missing, which sets it apart from leucostigma and many definita. The postmedian is black, thin, and finely dentate; thinner than in definita and more transverse compared to leucostigma where it is more oblique (Forbes, 1948). Females have only rudimentary wings, similar to the females of Phigalia species.
Adult Structural Features: Orgyia species have a single dorsal tuft on their abdomens, whereas Dasychira have two. Adults lack functional mouthparts. Males have two pair of spurs on their hind legs, similar to leucostigma but contrasting with definita, which only have a single pair (Ferguson, 1978). Males have much large juxta than the other species and there are no teeth on the sclerotized flap on the dorsal side of the aedeagus (Ferguson, 1978). Females are indistinguishable from those of definita and leucostigma.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae possess distinctively gray bodies with a narrow black dorsal stripe. and bright orange or yellow tubercles. They are otherwise similar to those of leucostigma in possessing a red head, a black anterior pair of hair pencils and a single posterior pencil, and in having four pale mid-dorsal tufts.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Most of our records come from the Coastal Plain, but with few were recorded during the All Taxa Biological Survey conducted in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.
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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