Moths of North Carolina

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Palthis asopialis (Guenée, 1854) - Faint-spotted Palthis

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Erebidae

Subfamily:
Herminiinae

P3 Number:
930552

MONA Number:
8398.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)

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

Adult Markings: The ground color is typically a dark, purplish brown (Forbes, 1954). The antemedian is dark brown, edged with pale, and usually angled at the middle. A diffuse, dark median shade runs obliquely across the wing but unlike P. angulalis is not strongly incurved at the inner margin. The postmedian and substerminal are both irregular; the subterminal is strongly oblique in from the costa. Both the orbicular and reniform spots are black and contrasting, with a pale line dividing the reniform. A pale terminal patch is bordered by a black, contrasting subterminal patch. Palthis angulalis is similar but is a paler reddish brown; the median shade is more strongly incurved at the inner margin; the orbicular is obsolete and the reniform is not divided by a pale line; the apical patch is usually reddish brown and the subapical patch is often yellowish but not contrastingly black.

Wingspan: 22 mm (Forbes, 1954)

Adult Structural Features: The palps of both sexes are very long and have a bushy tuft at the apex. In the males, the first two segments are strongly recurved and the palps lie over the back, reaching the abdomen; they are also often contrastingly orange-yellow and tucked in by the surrounding thoracic scales, forming what appears to be a pale, mid-dorsal line. In the females, the palps project forward.

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
Immature 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: Found in a wide range of habitats from swamps to barrens (Wagner et al., 2011). Our records come primarily from hardwood forests but including maritime forests, swamps, mesic slopes, and northern hardwoods

Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous, feeding on both living and dead plants. Wagner et al. (2011) specifically list wild indigo (Baptisia), beggarticks (Bidens), wild bean (Phaseolus), and Corn (Zea mays). - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Hardwood Forests

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S5]

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

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Palthis asopialis - Faint-spotted Palthis

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

	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-03 Rowan Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-10-02 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-02 Richmond Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Marilyn Westphal on 2025-10-01 Henderson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-09-28 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-20 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Shields, Laurie Hamon on 2025-09-19 Onslow Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-10 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-09-08 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-08-25 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Marilyn Westphal on 2025-08-19 Henderson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Marilyn Westphal and Becky Elkin. on 2025-08-17 Henderson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-09 Ashe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Melody McMichael on 2025-08-09 Forsyth Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Melody McMichael on 2025-08-09 Forsyth Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Melody McMichael on 2025-08-06 Forsyth Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Melody McMichael on 2025-08-06 Forsyth Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Melody McMichael on 2025-08-06 Forsyth Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-07-29 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-29 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-07-26 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Sarah Toner on 2025-07-22 Tyrrell Co. Comment: iNat record
	Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-07-06 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-07-04 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, David Cheng, Patrick Coin on 2025-06-29 Richmond Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-23 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-20 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2025-06-18 Alamance Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Jim Petranka on 2025-05-24 Richmond Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-22 Wilson Co. Comment: