Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Erebidae Members:	Macrochilo Members:	125 NC Records

Macrochilo litophora (Grote, 1873) - Brown-lined Owlet Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Erebidae

Subfamily:
Herminiinae

P3 Number:
930510

MONA Number:
8358.00

Other Common Names:
Two-lined Owlet, Angulate Fan-foot

Comments: One of seven species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), six of which have been recorded in North Carolina

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Adult Markings: The head, thorax, and both pairs of wings are clay-colored and lightly shaded with pale gray (Forbes, 1954). The lines are single and typically fine and light brown, but can be fairly strong and dark. The antemedian is slightly curved at the costa and then runs evenly to the inner margin. The postmedian is even but strongly curved, forming a smooth curve below the cell. The subterminal is typically blurred or faint, running straight from the apex to the inner margin. A dark adterminal line is present in our specimens, followed by more obscure terminal lines and a brown fringe. Zanclognatha pedipilalis is similar in color and pattern but is larger and typically has a strong subterminal line that does not reach the costa and a subterminal luteous spot.

Wingspan: 22 mm (Forbes, 1954)

Structural photos

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution:

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) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Nearly all of our records come from wet grassy areas, including bogs, seeps, savannas, swamp forests, bottomlands, and lakeshores.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on live and dead grasses and forbs (Wagner et al., 2011). - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Sedge, Grass, and Rush Mires

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR SNR [S4S5]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Macrochilo litophora - Brown-lined Owlet Moth

50 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Marilyn Westphal. on 2025-08-09 Henderson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-23 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2024-08-13 Yancey Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-12 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-03 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-07-13 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-05 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Regina Patton on 2024-06-03 Jackson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Regina Patton on 2024-05-30 Jackson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Regina Patton on 2024-05-28 Jackson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-25 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-22 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-05-21 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Hall, David George, and David Bradley on 2024-05-07 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Andrew W. Jones on 2023-08-08 Polk Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Andrew W. Jones on 2023-08-08 Polk Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Bo Sullivan on 2023-08-08 Wilkes Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-30 Swain Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2023-06-15 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-05-23 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson, Stephen Dunn on 2022-09-14 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-07-31 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-06-01 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2022-05-29 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2022-05-29 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-05-25 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-27 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-06-12 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-08-30 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-08-22 Madison Co. Comment: