Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Erebidae Members:	Doryodes Members:	226 NC Records

Doryodes bistrialis (Geyer, 1832) - Double-lined Doryodes

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Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Erebidae

Subfamily:
Erebinae

Tribe:
Euclidiini

P3 Number:
930925

MONA Number:
8765.00

Comments: One of 10 species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Sullivan, 2015), four of which have been recorded in North Carolina

Species Status: Specimens from Florida, Mississippi and North Carolina are closely similar in appearance, genitalia and barcodes (Lafontaine and Sullivan, 2015).

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

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

Technical Description, Adults: Lafontaine and Sullivan (2015)

Adult Markings: A medium-small, pale tan, yellow, and brown Erebid with fairly narrow, pointed wings. The head, thorax, and ground color of the forewings is tan or grayish-brown, with the central portion of the forewing colored a brighter yellow-brown. The wing markings are typical of this genus: transverse lines are absent, but there is a dark brown longitudinal streak that runs from the base to near the apex; this streak is bordered dorsally by a narrow pale streak from the base to the postmedian area and by a similar but curving streak on the ventral side, from the cell to the terminal area; two dark spot are present in the orbicular and reniform areas. Other members of this genus are very similar, although in North Carolina, only D. fusselli is similar in size -- spadaria is significantly bigger. Individuals observed in Longleaf Pine habitats with wiregrass are highly likely to be this species, but in areas where Longleaf habitats and coastal marshes are located close to one another -- e.g., Carolina Beach State Park, the Military Ocean Terminal at Sunny Point, and portions of Camp Lejeune and the Croatan National Forest -- dissection or barcoding is necessary to identify the species.

Forewing Length: 13.0–15.5 mm, males; 14.5–16.0 mm, females (Lafontaine and Sullivan, 2015)

Adult Structural Features: Males have broadly pectinate antennae; those of the female are filiform. Male and female reproductive structures are distinctive, and are described and illustrated in Lafontaine and Sullivan (2015).

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].

Immatures and Development: Larvae have not been found in the field nor successfully reared. Larvae of Doryodes spadaria have been reared and are illustrated in Wagner et al. (2011): they are elongated, pale brownish, and longitudinally striped.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Restricted to the southern half of the Coastal Plain in North Carolina, including the Fall-line Sandhills

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
Flight Comments: Adults fly throughout the growing season, with a possibly separate flight in the spring but more continuously in the summer and fall, although with three peaks

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: All of our records come from Longleaf Pine habitats with extensive areas of Wiregrass, including both wet-to-mesic savannas and flatwoods and dry-to-xeric sandhills. It is scarce to absent, however, in stands of Longleaf Pine where prolonged fire suppression has led to the reduction or elimination of Wiregrass.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae are possibly monophagous on Wiregrass (Aristida stricta), but there are also reports from Saltmeadow Cordgrass (Spartina patens) (Covell, 1984; Heppner, 2007). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View

Observation Methods: Comes well to lights and can be easily flushed during the day by walking through its habitat

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Fire-maintained Herblands

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status: W-PK

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 S3S4

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

Comments: This species is strongly specialized in both host plants and habitats. Although locally common in good quality habitats, it has been eliminated over large parts of its range due to loss of Longleaf Pine habitats generally or from reduction and loss specifically of its host plants due to the effects of fire-suppression. Like many other moth species associated with fire-maintained host plants, the moth is not adapted to survive a fire on site but instead must recolonize burned areas from unburned refugia. This metapopulation-dependent strategy makes this species highly vulnerable to the effects of habitat fragmentation. Although its populations have been undoubtedly reduced and the species remains vulnerable, it appears to have secure populations in several large tracts that are appropriately managed using prescribed burns. For that reason, we recommend keeping this species on the Watch List rather than listing it as Significantly Rare.

Photo Gallery for Doryodes bistrialis - Double-lined Doryodes

Photos: 28

	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-06-29 Richmond Co. Comment: Specimen was dissected.		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2025-06-26 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2025-06-26 Richmond Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2025-06-20 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-05-09 Cumberland Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, Steve Hall, David George on 2025-04-20 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2024-08-16 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-19 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Bo Sullivan on 2023-06-13 Scotland Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan on 2022-08-29 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan on 2022-08-29 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-21 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-21 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-20 Pender Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-17 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-17 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-16 Pender Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-16 Pender Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-13 Pender Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-12 Pender Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-12 Pender Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-08 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Laura Hamon on 2021-04-08 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Steve Hall on 2014-06-04 Onslow Co. Comment: Common in savannas with wiregrass
	Recorded by: Steve Hall on 2014-06-04 Onslow Co. Comment: Commonly seen in savannas; easily flushed from the grass and is probably partially diurnal		Recorded by: NEW on 2012-08-22 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: NEW on 2011-10-05 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Steve Hall on 2001-03-30 Moore Co. Comment: