Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Autographa Members: 17 NC Records

Autographa ampla (Walker, [1858]) - Large Looper Moth

Autographa amplaAutographa amplaAutographa amplaAutographa ampla
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Plusiinae		Tribe:
Plusiini		P3 Number:
931204		 MONA Number:
8923.00		 Other Common Names:
Climbing Looper, Broken-banded Y, Brown-patched Looper Moth, Raspberry Looper
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
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 amplaAlamance 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: Wagner et al. (2011) list wetlands, shorelines, forest edges, particularly in boreal habitats, as used by this species. Our records come from both Northern Hardwoods, cove forests, bogs, and river and lake shorelines in the Mountains.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on a number of woody shrubs and trees, including alder (Alnus), birch (Betula), cherry (Prunus), poplar and aspen (Populus), serviceberry (Amelanchier), and Possumhaw Viburnum (Viburnum nudum) (Lafontaine and Poole, 1991; Wagner et al., 2011). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Montane Wet-Mesic Forests and Edges
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S2S3]
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 ampla - Large Looper Moth

Photos: 8
Autographa amplaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Mark Basinger on 2025-06-23
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Autographa amplaRecorded by: Richard Teper on 2022-06-29
Avery Co.
Comment:
Autographa amplaRecorded by: K. Bischof on 2016-06-28
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Autographa amplaRecorded by: B. Bockhahn, P. Scharf on 2016-06-28
Yancey Co.
Comment:
Autographa amplaRecorded by: B. Bockhahn, P. Scharf on 2016-06-28
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Autographa amplaRecorded by: B. Bockhahn, P. Scharf on 2016-06-28
Yancey Co.
Comment:
Autographa amplaRecorded by: B. Bockhahn, K. Kittelberger, P. Scharf on 2015-06-18
Avery Co.
Comment: 		Autographa amplaRecorded by: B. Bockhahn, K. Kittelberger, P. Scharf on 2015-06-18
Avery Co.
Comment: