Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFErebidae Members: Rusicada Members: 46 NC Records

Rusicada privata (Walker, 1865) - Hibiscus-leaf Caterpillar Moth

Rusicada privataRusicada privataRusicada privata
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Erebidae		Subfamily:
Scoliopteryginae		Tribe:
Anomini		P3 Number:
930610.5		 MONA Number:
8547.00		 MONA Synonym:
Anomis privata		Other Common Name:
Hibiscus Scalloped Moth
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Immature Stages: Wagner et al. (2011)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The ground color is yellowish to dark fuscous, sometimes with a heavy dusting of red and a paler patch of mouse gray or reddish-yellow in the fold where it is crossed by the postmedian (Forbes, 1954). The transverse lines are dark brown, edges with gray. The antemedian is excurved and moderately scalloped. The postmedian runs irregularly in from the costa but then makes a sharp right angle bend inward to the basal edge of the reniform, to which it appears to be an extension. From that point, it runs straight to the inner margin (Forbes, 1954). The subterminal is represented by a series of fuscous patches, bordered outwardly by a pale line. The orbicular is a small ring that may be filled with white. The reniform is a narrow lunule with a straight base that lines up with the inner portion of the postmedian.

Anomis erosa generally has a more yellowish ground color but is similar in pattern. The postmedian, however, is more smoothly curved in from the costa, although also strongly offset inward, again reaching the base of the reniform. From that point, it curves across the wing, joining the antemedian just above the inner margin. In contrast to R. privata, A. erosa has a well-developed tooth on both the antemedian and postmedian lines. In R. privata, the antemedian line appears scalloped, without the obvious tooth of A. erosa.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: We have scattered records across the Piedmont and Mountains, but so far only one from the Coastal Plain.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Rusicada privataAlamance 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%20Hanover 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.