Moths of North Carolina
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113 NC Records

Zale galbanata (Morrison, 1876) - Maple Zale

Zale galbanataZale galbanata
view caption 		Zale galbanataZale galbanata
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: ErebinaeTribe: OphiusiniP3 Number: 931026 MONA Number: 8692.00
Comments: One of 39 species in this genus that occur north of Mexico, 23 of which have been recorded in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1954), Wagner et al. (2011)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Typically gray to grayish-brown with a pattern of thin wavy lines; also shows some of the same variations found in minerea and other species, including forms having contrasting areas of dark and light brown. Galbanata is smaller than minerea and possesses a less strongly marked sub-terminal patch located along the costa between the postmedian and sub-terminal lines; in minerea, this patch is more solidly dark brown and contrasting (Forbes, 1954). Both of these species often possess a noticeable bar or dash at the middle of the outer margin, which in galbanata is somewhat separated from the sub-marginal and more horizontal, whereas in minerea it usually appears to be an extension of the curved sub-marginal line (Forbes, 1953). This bar appears to be always missing in Z. phaeocapna, a species that is otherwise similar in size, color, and pattern to Z. galbanata. Phaeocapna is usually more reddish than galbanata, although some specimens of galbanata can be quite reddish and lack the marginal bar. While most typical specimens can probably be identified based on good-quality photographs, dissections of the male reproductive structures provides the most definitive way to tell these species apart.
Adult Structural Features: Male galbanata can be easily distinguished from all other Zales by brushing the scales away from the tip of the abdomen and exposing the apices of the valves: the right vale is divided, with a slender tip and a lower thumb-like projection; the left valve has a sharply bent apex, with a curved projection that runs nearly parallel to the shaft.
Structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae have a series of narrow white lines running along the dorsal and lateral surfaces (illustrated in Wagner et al., 2011). That pattern differs from lunata and minerea, the only other Zales that might feed on maples.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Not recorded by Brimley (1938) or Wray (1967), even though the species was described by Morrison in 1876. Despite the commonness of its host plants, our records are fairly sparse but represent most areas of the state except the Outer Banks and other barrier islands.
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)

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