Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members:
Megalographa Members:
73 NC Records

Megalographa biloba (Stephens, 1830) - Bilobed Looper Moth

Megalographa bilobaMegalographa bilobaMegalographa biloba
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Plusiinae		Tribe:
Plusiini		P3 Number:
931209		 MONA Number:
8907.00		 Other Common Name:
Stephen's Gem
Comments: The sole member of this genus in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991; Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010)
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984; as Autographa biloba); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized, brown Looper, shaded with red or yellow and possessing a distinctive bilobed silver stigma. The transverse lines are also silver, as is the dorsal outline of the reniform, which forms a conspicuous c-shaped mark.
Wingspan: 35-40 mm (Forbes, 1954)
Adult Structural Features: Male and female reproductive structures are described and illustrated by Lafontaine and Poole (1991) and are unique within our fauna.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae are very distinctive -- green with white lines and dashes and covered with a pelage of fairly long, white hair-like spines (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991)
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Megalographa biloba
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 records come from a wide range of open habitats. Records from the high mountains may represent migrants.
Larval Host Plants: Polyphagous, feeding on a wide variety of herbaceous plants, including crop species (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991). Wagner et al. (2011) specifically list Common Barley (Hordeum vulgare), Garden Lettuce (Lactuca sativa), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Cultivated Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), dandelion (Taraxacum), clover (Trifolium), and vervain (Verbena). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Fields, Gardens, and Ruderal Habitats
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S4S5]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Megalographa biloba - Bilobed Looper Moth

51 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-06-02
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-01
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-05-16
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Tim Foley on 2024-04-20
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-04-19
Brunswick Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-04-19
Brunswick Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-04-06
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-09-05
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-09-05
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-07-30
Wake Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2023-06-16
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2023-03-03
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-06-12
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-06-03
Wake Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-04-22
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-06-24
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-05-17
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2021-05-17
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-07-19
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-06-24
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-11
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-05
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-23
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-23
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2019-06-16
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2019-06-13
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-11
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-07
Madison Co.
Comment: