Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« »
View PDFErebidae Members:
Renia Members:
263 NC Records

Renia discoloralis Guenée, 1854 - Discolored Renia Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: HerminiinaeP3 Number: 930532.00 MONA Number: 8381.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is the largest of our species of Renia. The pattern is extremely variable, with the coloration ranging from fairly uniform to strongly contrasting. In the contrasting form, the median and subterminal areas are dark brown with the basal, postmedian, and marginal areas pale yellowish (Forbes, 1954). The antemedian and postmedian lines are dark, excurved and strongly scalloped. The subterminal is pale and irregular, with inward bends opposite the cell and in the fold with outward bulges in between; sometimes represented by a series of dots. The orbcular is a small, pale dot. The reniform is yellowish and contrasting with two darker dots that are sometimes fused. In melanic forms, the forewings are dark brown with the lines and spots obscure. The hindwings are fuscous with a dark postmedian and paler subterminal. The undescribed species near discolorais is very similar and size measurements are useful in separating the two. All other members of this genus are even smaller.
Wingspan: 35 - 45 mm (Forbes, 1954)
Adult Structural Features: In males, the shaft of the antenna before the tuft is usually 7 mm long, with the portion after the tuft only 3 mm long. The apex of the forewing is somewhat falcate; the outer margin is oblique.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].
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