Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFErebidae Members: Bleptina Members: 7 NC Records

Bleptina sangamonia Barnes & McDunnough, 1912 - No Common Name

Bleptina sangamonia
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Erebidae		Subfamily:
Herminiinae		P3 Number:
930523		 MONA Number:
8372.00
Comments: One of seven species in this genus that occur in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010); three have been recorded in North Carolina.
Species Status: According to barcode results, our species appears to be the same as the one that occurs in the Midwest, rather than an undescribed sibling sibling species as mentioned in Wagner et al. (2011).
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Not in either field guideOnline Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Crumb (1956; as Bleptina medialis)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The three species of Bleptina in our area are all very similar: small grayish Deltoids with males that have a somewhat concave costal margin. Bleptina sangamonia and B. inferior are both gray with a sinuous, non-contrasting subterminal line. B. caradrinalis is usually paler gray or brownish and has a pale, bent but otherwise even subterminal line. In B. sangamonia, the subterminal is fairly irregular and dentate, and filled with the same gray as the ground color; in some individuals it is too obscure to make out (Forbes, 1954; JBS, pers. obs.). The subterminal may also be obscure in B. inferior, but is often visible and filled with a brown shading; it is also less dentate than in B. sangamonia. Whereas B. caradrinalis is usually easy to recognize from photos, B. sangamonia and B. inferior are best identified through dissection of the males.
Adult Structural Features: Male Bleptina have simple but ciliate antennae, unlike those of many Herminiinae, which are often pectinate or possess a knot with spines (Forbes, 1954). Male valves are illustrated by Forbes and the shape of the terminal projections distinguishes all three of our species. In female B. sangamonia, there is just a single row of signa, whereas in inferior, there are two rows (JBS, pers. obs.).
Genitalia and other structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable only by close inspection of structural features or by DNA analysis.
Immatures and Development: Larvae of B. sangamonia have a black head and body and are similar to those of caradinalis, which have brown rather than black heads (Crumb, 1956). The body is covered with coarse granules and there is a pale lateral stripe above the dark spiracles (see Crumb, 1956, for additional details).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from close inspection of specimens or by DNA analysis.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: We have a few records from all three geographic provinces in the state.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Bleptina sangamoniaAlamance 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 Hanover 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.