Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Megalographa Members: 77 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 bilobaAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
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

 56 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-05-26
Moore Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-05-26
Moore Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Steve Taylor on 2025-05-20
Beaufort Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-01
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-04-23
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-06-02
Wake Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-01
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: R. Newman on 2024-05-16
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Tim Foley on 2024-04-20
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-04-19
Brunswick Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-04-19
Brunswick Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: R. Newman on 2024-04-06
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-09-05
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-09-05
Orange Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-07-30
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Simpson Eason on 2023-06-16
Durham Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: R. Newman on 2023-03-03
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: tom ward on 2022-06-12
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-06-03
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-04-22
Madison Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: R. Newman on 2021-06-24
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: R. Newman on 2021-05-17
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: R. Newman on 2021-05-17
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-07-19
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2020-06-24
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-11
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-05
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Megalographa bilobaRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-06-23
Guilford Co.
Comment: