Moths of North Carolina
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Idia Members:
7 NC Records

Idia majoralis (Smith, 1895) - Greater Idia Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: HerminiinaeP3 Number: 930470.00 MONA Number: 8324.00
Comments: One of eighteen species recorded in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), twelve of which are found in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Not in either field guideOnline Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954); Schweitzer et al. (2011)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized deltoid but the largest of the Idias. Similar in pattern to I. americalis, with a gray costal margin, costaly widened black lines, and a yellowish wash running through the middle of the wing towards the outer margin. The basal area, however, is not paler than the rest of the wing and the terminal line is broken into a series of spots rather than being continuous as seen in I. americalis; the portion of the terminal line below the apex is often wider. Not mentioned by Forbes but conistent in our specimens, the subapical spot has a longer lobe pointed towards the outer margin than is true for americalis (J. Petranka, pers. obs.) The hindwing is heavily fuscous and nearly concolorous with the forewing, whereas it can be somewhat paler in americalis.
Wingspan: 30-35 mm (Forbes, 1954)
Adult Structural Features: Belongs to Forbes' subgenus Pseudaglossa, characterized by long palps -- reaching the vertex -- and with the third segement very long, conical, and smoothly scaled (Forbes, 1954). Easily distinguished from americalis and other members of the subgenus Epizeuxis by these characters.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae have apparently not been described.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: All of our records come from the Low Mountains or isolated monadnocks in the western Piedmont. However, majoralis has also been recorded in Charleston County, SC, suggesting they may be associated with coastal populations of Eastern Woodrats, which are associated in that region with Martime and Coastal Fringe Evergreen Forests.
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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