Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members:
Allagrapha Members:
83 NC Records

Allagrapha aerea (Hübner, [1803]) - Unspotted Looper Moth

Allagrapha aereaAllagrapha aereaAllagrapha aereaAllagrapha aerea
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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NoctuidaeSubfamily: PlusiinaeTribe: PlusiiniP3 Number: 931177 MONA Number: 8898.00
Comments: The sole member of its genus and occurring widely across eastern North America (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991)
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954, as Plusia aerea); Lafontane and Poole (1991)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized Looper, with dark, umber or reddish-brown, apically-pointed forewings and light brown hindwings. No stigma is present. The head and thorax are usually orange and contrasting with the wings. Similar in size and wing shape to Diachrysia aeroides, but is usually darker and with more diffuse markings. Where visible, the postmedian is waved in Allagrapha aerea but straight in D. aeroides.
Wingspan: 28-40 mm (Forbes, 1954)
Forewing Length: 16-20 mm (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991)
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
Immature 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 from cove forests in the mountains to open, shoreline habitats in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous on herbaceous plants, including Aster, Nettle, Goldenrod, and Soybean (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991; Wagner et al., 2011). - View
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 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 Allagrapha aerea - Unspotted Looper Moth

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

Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-09-25
Orange Co.
Comment: An adult that was reared from z larva found on 2024-09-04 (see companion photo of the larva).		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-09-21
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-09-04
Orange Co.
Comment: A larva that was feeding on Verbena brasiliensis (adult reared).		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-05
Mitchell Co.
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Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-05
Mitchell Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-08-05
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2023-08-01
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-09-21
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-09-17
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-09-07
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-07-26
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-07-26
Wake Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-06-07
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2022-05-17
Chatham Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-10-01
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-08-09
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-27
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-19
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-05-21
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-05-21
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-07-19
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2019-09-21
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-09-15
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-09-15
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-25
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-19
Guilford Co.
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Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-03
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-25
Guilford Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-03
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-05-20
Madison Co.
Comment: