Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members:
Polychrysia Members:
10 NC Records

Polychrysia morigera (Hy. Edwards, 1886) - No Common Name

Polychrysia morigera
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NoctuidaeSubfamily: PlusiinaeTribe: PlusiiniP3 Number: 931183 MONA Number: 8902.00
Comments: One of six members of this Holarctic genus, two of which occur in North America (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991). Only P. morigera occurs in the East.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Lafontaine and Poole (1991)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized, mottled dark brown Looper, with a distinctive dagger-shaped, hollow stigma that reaches the postmedian line. Hindwings are a fairly dark brown.
Wingspan: One of our specimens has a wingspan of 32 mm.
Adult Structural Features: The palps are distinctively long and upturned, with a fringe on the underside.
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: We have records from cove forests at two sites, but also from Spruce-fir Forests
Larval Host Plants: The only reported hosts for this species are Larkspurs (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991). Our two native species are associated with rich soils, including rich cove forests in the mountains - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Rich Montane Hardwood Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: SR
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 S2S3
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: Lafontaine and Poole (1991) regarded this species as the rarest Plusiine occurring in North America, despite its fairly wide range.

 Photo Gallery for Polychrysia morigera - No common name

Photos: 1

Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 2015-06-12
Ashe Co.
Comment: Specimen in the NCSU Insect Museum. Wingspan = 3.2 cm; forewing length = 1.5 cm.