Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Noctuidae Members:	Argyrogramma Members:	57 NC Records

Argyrogramma verruca (Fabricius, 1794) - Golden Looper Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Noctuidae

Subfamily:
Plusiinae

Tribe:
Argyrogrammatini

P3 Number:
931166

MONA Number:
8885.00

Comments: The sole member of its genus that occurs in the New World; the two other species are found in the Old World (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991).

Identification

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

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

Adult Markings: A medium-sized Looper with predominantly metallic copper, gold, or yellowish forewings. The median area below the stigma to the inner margin is usually heavily golden, as is the subterminal area. Other portions of the forewings may be shaded with brown, especially the median area from the costa to the stigma. The stigma is either silver or gold (Forbes, 1954); the basal portion is rounded and the trailing spot is usually small. Two other Loopers, Chrysodeixis includens and Autographa precationis, also have patches with a bronzy, metallic sheen, but that are more limited in extent and with a darker brown underlying color, particularly in the median area below the stigma. The basal portion of the stigma is more pointed in precationis and the posterior spot is usually larger in both of these species than in verruca.

Wingspan: 30 mm (Forbes, 1954)

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: Our records come primarily from open habitats, including both natural and disturbed.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on many species of herbaceous plants, including arrowhead (Sagittaria), dock (Rumex), and tobacco (Nicotiana) (Wagner et al., 2011). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Fields, Gardens, and Ruderal Habitats

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S3S4]

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

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Argyrogramma verruca - Golden Looper Moth

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

	Recorded by: Lior S. Carlson, Dean Furbish on 2025-09-24 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Lior S. Carlson, Dean Furbish on 2025-09-24 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2025-09-19 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-11-18 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-10-05 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-10-05 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-25 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-05 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-05 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-05 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-10-27 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2023-09-18 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-11-06 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-10-08 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2022-08-03 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2021-12-03 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2021-10-15 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-10-14 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-09-28 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: J. A. Anderson on 2021-09-28 New Hanover Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2020-11-05 Onslow Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-10-19 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-10-19 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-10-07 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-09-27 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-09-27 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2019-09-19 Onslow Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-09-04 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2019-08-30 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: L. M. Carlson on 2019-08-07 Orange Co. Comment: