Moths of North Carolina
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Argillophora Members:
51 NC Records

Argillophora furcilla Grote, 1873 - Silver Fork Cane Moth

Argillophora furcillaArgillophora furcillaArgillophora furcillaArgillophora furcilla
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Eustotiinae		P3 Number:
931299		 MONA Number:
9060.00		 Other Common Name:
Forked Halter Moth
Comments: The only member of its genus occurring in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010)
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Grote (1873); Forbes, (1954)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-small Noctuid. The ground color is clay to buff, with a prominent streak of silver running from the base of the forewing to about a third of the way along the inner margin and from there outward to the cell, where it merges with a small spot with two small points (i.e., the fork). The outward side of the silver streak is shaded with blackish and a similar dark streak runs from the base of the wing to the silver streak near where it ends at the cell. The normal transverse lines are not evident and the orbicular is represented by a small black spot. The hindwings are pale, usually edged with yellow (Grote, 1873; Forbes, 1954). Franclemontia interrogans is another yellowish-brown cane-feeding Noctuid, but is larger than Argillophora and has a hockey-stick shaped white mark in the middle of the wing rather than the long, bent silver streak characteristic of Argillophora.
Wingspan: 24-25 mm (Grote, 1873; Forbes, 1954)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Possibly occurs statewide with the exception of the High Mountains.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Argillophora furcilla
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: Probably univoltine, flying only from May to July.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: All of our records come from cane-containing habitats, including peatlands and river floodplains in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain, and dry slopes in the mountains where Hill Cane occurs. No records come from cane growing in savannas and flatwoods that are maintained by frequent fire.
Larval Host Plants: Believed to be stenophagous on cane (Arundinaria spp.) (Quinter, ), with records coming from both Giant Cane (Arundinaria gigantea) and Hill Cane (Arundinaria appalachiana), but possibly not from Switch Cane (Arundinaria tecta), at least where it is associated with fire-maintained habitats. - View
Observation Methods: All of our records come from 15 watt UV light traps
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Cane Thickets
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: W-PK
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G3G4 S2S3 [S3S4]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: Once considered very rare and local (e.g., Forbes, 1954), but now found fairly routinely when cane-containing habitats are sampled during the summer. Even in areas with large amounts of cane, however, only a few individuals have ever been collected in a single trap sample.

 Photo Gallery for Argillophora furcilla - Silver Fork Cane Moth

Photos: 30

Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-06-22
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-16
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-10
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-06-05
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2023-07-07
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2023-06-14
Transylvania Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-06-19
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Richard Teper on 2022-06-16
Macon Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-06-16
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-06-12
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-06-12
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-06-29
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-06-11
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2020-08-09
Cabarrus Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-07-14
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-06-30
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-30
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-27
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-14
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2019-06-07
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-09-05
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-09-05
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-06-20
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-06-20
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jamie Harrelson on 2018-06-16
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-06-13
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-06-13
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2013-06-28
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2013-06-28
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 2013-05-10
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment: