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

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

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NoctuidaeSubfamily: PlusiinaeTribe: PlusiiniP3 Number: 931183.00 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 Photographs: 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
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.