Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Autographa Members: 204 NC Records

Autographa precationis (Guenée, 1852) - Common Looper Moth

Autographa precationisAutographa precationisAutographa precationisAutographa precationis
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Plusiinae		Tribe:
Plusiini		P3 Number:
931191		 MONA Number:
8908.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954, as Plusia precationis); Lafontaine and Poole (1991)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized, dark brown Looper, with some areas of the forewing having a bronzy luster. The silvery stigma is the most conspicuous mark, composed of an open loop followed by solid silver spot that may be separate or partially joined to the loop. Chrysodeixis includens is similar in size, pattern, and coloration. In C. includens, however, the stigma is rounded and U-shaped whereas it is a more pointed V-shape in A. precationis. C. includens also has two dark wedges that are absent in A. precationis, one projecting outward from the basal line and one located in the terminal area (Forbes, 1954). According to Lafontaine and Poole (1991), precationis has rusty-red tints that are missing in includens, and the reniform is surrounded by a thin (often obscure) white line that is always absent in includens.
Wingspan: 33-38 mm (Forbes, 1954)
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.
Autographa precationisAlamance 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.
Immature 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: immatures.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Wagner et al. (2011) list fields, gardens, agricultural fields, waste place, and other open and early successional habitats as used by this species. While we have some records from open habitats in the Piedmont, the majority of our records come from forested sites in the Mountains. Records from summits, however, may represent migrants.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous on herbaceous plants, including some crop species. Wagner (2005) specifically mentions cabbage, lettuce, clover, dandelion, sunflower, Hollyhock (Alcea rosea), and vervain (Verbena spp.). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Fields
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 Autographa precationis - Common Looper Moth

 94 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-25
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-25
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-04-19
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-19
Madison Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-07
Mitchell Co.
Comment: Collected in sweep net; host plant not identified. 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-07
Mitchell Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-08-02
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-06-19
Madison Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-05
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-04-11
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Simpson Eason on 2024-03-28
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-03-08
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Owen McConnell on 2023-10-27
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan and Becky Elkin on 2023-09-14
Macon Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Stefanie Hedrick on 2023-08-17
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Chuck Smith on 2023-08-16
Davidson Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: John Petranka, David George on 2023-08-05
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: John Petranka on 2023-08-01
Orange Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: John Petranka on 2023-08-01
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-06
Orange Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2023-07-02
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Simpson Eason on 2023-06-08
Durham Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-06-03
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Simpson Eason on 2023-04-15
Durham Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-11-06
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-09-21
Madison Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson, Stephen Dunn on 2022-07-15
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-07-11
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Autographa precationisRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-07-01
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Autographa precationisRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-06-30
Guilford Co.
Comment: