Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Ponometia Members: 1 NC Records

Ponometia exigua (Fabricius, 1793) - Bicolored Bird-dropping Moth

Ponometia exigua
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Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Acontiinae		Tribe:
Acontiini		P3 Number:
931335		 MONA Number:
9115.00
Comments: One of 34 species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), six of which have been recorded in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Poole (2016)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-small, dimorphically-colored Acontiine. The head, thorax, and ground color of the forewings is orange-brown in the male
Forewing Length: 11 mm (Poole, 2016)
Adult Structural Features: Male and female reproductive structures are illustrated by Poole (2016)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Apparently undescribed (Poole, 2016)
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Recorded in the southern half of the Outer Coastal Plain in North Carolina
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Ponometia exiguaAlamance 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.
Flight Comments: Our one record comes from August
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Habitats used in North Carolina -- if it is in fact resident in the state -- are unclear.
Larval Host Plants: Host plants are poorly documented. Beadle & Leckie (2018) list American Burnweed (Erechtites hieraciifolia), but Poole (2016) reports that larval hosts are unknown. - View
Observation Methods: Collected at lights.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR SNR [SNA]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This is primarily a Neotropical species and may be only a rare stray in North Carolina. Its residency status needs to be determined before it is placed even on the Watch List.

 Photo Gallery for Ponometia exigua - Bicolored Bird-dropping Moth

Photos: 1
Ponometia exiguaRecorded by: Bo Sullivan on 1994-08-16
Craven Co.
Comment: Female