Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Allagrapha Members: 86 NC Records

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

Allagrapha aereaAllagrapha aereaAllagrapha aereaAllagrapha aerea
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Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Plusiinae		Tribe:
Plusiini		P3 Number:
931177		 MONA Number:
8898.00		 Other Common Name:
Copper Looper Moth
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.
Allagrapha aereaAlamance 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.
Immature 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: immatures.
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 (Urtica), goldenrod (Solidago), and Soybean (Glycine max) (Lafontaine & Poole, 1991; Wagner et al., 2011). In North Carolina, we have a rearing record from Brazilian Vervain (Verbena brasiliensis). - View
Wikipedia
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 Allagrapha aerea - Unspotted Looper Moth

 48 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-09-27
Watauga Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2025-08-30
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
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).		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-09-21
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-09-04
Orange Co.
Comment: A larva that was feeding on Verbena brasiliensis (adult reared).		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-05
Mitchell Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-05
Mitchell Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-08-09
Durham Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-08-05
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2023-08-01
Yancey Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-09-21
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-09-17
Madison Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-09-07
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-07-26
Wake Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-07-26
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-06-07
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2022-05-17
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-10-01
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-08-09
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-27
Madison Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-19
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-05-21
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-05-21
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-07-19
Madison Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2019-09-21
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-09-15
Madison Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-09-15
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-25
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-19
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Allagrapha aerea
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-03
Guilford Co.
Comment: