Moths of North Carolina

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Pseudeva purpurigera (Walker, 1858) - Straight-lined Looper Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Noctuidae

Subfamily:
Plusiinae

Tribe:
Plusiini

P3 Number:
931184

MONA Number:
8899.00

Comments: One of two species in this genus, only one of which occurs in North Carolina and the East; the other is Western (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991)

Identification

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

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

Technical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954; as Plusia purpurigera); Lafontaine and Poole (1991)

Adult Markings: A medium-sized, dull orange or yellow Looper with pink shading, flecked with brown, and with a bronzy sheen in the subterminal area (Forbes, 1948). No stigma is present and the other spots are often obscure. The most conspicuous marking is the pale postmedian line. Hindwings are pale fuscous.

Wingspan: 30 mm (Forbes, 1948)

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 sole record for this species comes from a cove forest.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on meadow-rue (Thalictrum), including both Early Meadow-rue (T. dioicum) and Tall Meadow-rue (T. pubescens) (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991), both of which occur in mesic to wet forests in the North Carolina Mountains and Piedmont. - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Montane Mesic Forests

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status: [SR]

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S1S2]

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

Comments: This northern species has been recorded at only a couple of sites in North Carolina, all possessing high quality mesic forests where resident populations appear to exist.

Photo Gallery for Pseudeva purpurigera - Straight-lined Looper Moth

Photos: 11

	Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-07-10 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-06-19 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-07-08 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-07-07 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-07-07 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-06 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-06 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-07-04 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-06-12 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-06-12 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-06-12 Buncombe Co. Comment: