Moths of North Carolina
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Zanclognatha Members:
6 NC Records

Zanclognatha atrilineella (Grote, 1873) - Black-lined Zanclognatha

No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: HerminiinaeP3 Number: 930493 MONA Number: 8346.00
Comments: One of thirteen species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010; 2013; Wagner and McCabe, 2011), all of which have been recorded in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Smith (1895)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A strikingly and distinctively banded Deltoid. The ground color is pale whitish or gray, crossed by dark brown antemedan, postmedian, and subterminal bands. The antemedian and subterminal are straight but the postmedian makes an outward curve around the cell; the postmedian and subterminal are bordered by a pale stripe on the outer side. The reniform spot is the same dark shade as the lines. Zanclognatha laevigata has some forms that have strong brown bands, but is larger and has a subterminal line that is waved rather than straight.
Wingspan: 22 mm (Grote, 1873; Smith, 1895)
Adult Structural Features: Male antennae have a thickening -- typical of Zanclognatha -- about one third from the base (Smith, 1895)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Most of our records come from the Coastal Plain, particularly from the floodplain of the Roanoke River
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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Flight Comments: Possibly bivoltine, with adults recorded in the spring and summer
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Our records all come from riparian habitats, including both swamp forests and bottomland hardwoods
Larval Host Plants: Apparently unknown, but a number of species in this genus have been reared on dead leaves and other detritus (Wagner et al., 2011) - View
Observation Methods: All of our specimens were collected using blacklight traps. However, we do not have enough records for this species to estimate how well it comes to lights.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Coastal Plain Wet-Hydric Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: W3
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GU S2S3
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: We have only a few records for this species, which appears to be a least somewhat specialized in terms of its habitats. However, its habitats themselves do not appear to be rare within the state and without knowing more about its host plants and other possible limiting factors, it is difficult to assess the conservation status of this species in North Carolina.