Moths of North Carolina
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Metalectra Members:
237 NC Records

Metalectra discalis (Grote, 1876) - Common Fungus Moth


Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: BoletobiinaeP3 Number: 930679.00 MONA Number: 8499.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The ground color is umber, strongly mottled with slate gray, brown, black, red, and luteous (Forbes, 1954). The antemedian is double and luteous, with a brown center. Its course is somewhat excurved and waved. The postmedian is single and black, following a sinuous but even course. It is followed by yellowish patch at the costa and by a series of black and luteous dots over the inner portion. A similar series of black and luteous dots occur along the veins in the subterminal area. The strongest line is the median, which is black, fairly broad, and often extending across the width of the wing. The reniform is also black, often followed by a luteous bar. Hindwings are similar in coloration and pattern to the forewings.

Metalectra quadrisignata is similar but often has a more extensive area of gray, often with a purplish sheen or rose shading. The luteous dots are sometimes absent and the median bar is usually narrower than in discalis, more undulating or incomplete. In males, the structural tufts of hair pencils on the legs are often more useful than the wing pattern and coloration. In relatively fresh specimens, the pair of tufts on the second abdominal segment are also diagnostic.
Adult Structural Features: In males, the fore tibiae and coxa and the hind tibiae possess large tufts of hair pencils. In M. quadrisignata, in contrast, no hair pencils are present and only a small amount of rough scaling (Forbes, 1954). The second segment of the abdomen has a pair of scale tufts that are absent in quadrisignata.
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: Wagner et al. (2011) list woodlands and forests as habitat. Our records come areas where hardwoods are present, from both dry and wet sites
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on Bracket fungus and other fungi. Larvae have also been reared on algae (Wagner et al., 2011) - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Hardwood Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 S5
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
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 Photo Gallery for Metalectra discalis - Common Fungus Moth

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

Recorded by: Avery Young on 2023-09-24
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-08-10
Orange Co.
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Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2023-08-10
Wilson Co.
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Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-30
Swain Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-25
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-24
Orange Co.
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Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-13
Orange Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-06-04
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Erich Hofmann, Jesse Anderson on 2023-05-22
New Hanover Co.
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Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2022-09-03
Graham Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-08-24
Clay Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-08-22
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-08-09
Watauga Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-07-31
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-07-17
Guilford Co.
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Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson, Stephen Dunn on 2022-07-15
Orange Co.
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Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2022-07-01
Chatham Co.
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Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2022-06-25
Transylvania Co.
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Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-04-13
Carteret Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-09-17
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2021-09-17
Orange Co.
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Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-08-31
Carteret Co.
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Recorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2021-08-08
Sampson Co.
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Recorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2021-08-08
Sampson Co.
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Recorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2021-08-08
Sampson Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-28
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-27
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-07-21
Carteret Co.
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Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-07-15
Wake Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-14
Madison Co.
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