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

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

Polychrysia morigeraPolychrysia morigera
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Plusiinae		Tribe:
Plusiini		P3 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.
Polychrysia morigera
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 (Delphinium spp.) (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 S1S2
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 - None

Photos: 2

Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-18
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		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.