Moths of North Carolina
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9 NC Records

Photedes enervata (Guenée, 1852) - No Common Name

No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NoctuidaeSubfamily: NoctuinaeTribe: ApameiniP3 Number: 932424.00 MONA Number: 9441.00 MONA Synonym: Hypocoena enervata, Chortodes enervata
Comments: One of seven species currently placed in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), two of which have been recorded in North Carolina. Information based primarily on molecular data and/or genitalia indicate that the genus that this species currently is assigned to is misapplied, but the correct genus to which it should be assigned has not been determined by experts. The genus name is sometimes placed in quotation marks ("Photedes" enervata) to indicate the misapplied name.
Species Status: Eric Quinter (in Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010) indicated that enervata and orphnina -- a more northern species -- are likely conspecific
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Published descriptions of this moth are scarce, but Forbes (1954) included it in his key for Hypocoena despite the fact that he considered it a southern species that rarely, if at all, occurred within the geographic area covered by his monographs. He described it as "evenly dull brown, or fuscous, normally somewhat reddish, the darker veins hardly distinct." This description agrees with photographs of specimens on MPG and BOLD, some of which show more distinctly darkened veins, a bicolored discal spot, a dotted postmedian, and a terminal row of dark spots. Some also show a dark dash that in some cases reaches the postmedian line. Hindwings are tan or off-white. The more strongly marked individuals resemble Leucanias, especially L. incognita. Leucanias, however, can be distinguished by the hair on the surface of the eyes, which is absent in Chortodes. Leucanias also have pale veins, with less conspicuous dark lines in between.
Adult Structural Features: Ferguson (1992) mentions that the male reproductive structures of Photedes enervata are similar to those of Franclemontia interogans and considered them to be closely related.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Restricted to the Tidewater zone of Coastal Plain
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
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: Possibily univoltine. All of our records come from the spring, from April to June
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Our records all come from the vicinity of salt marshes
Larval Host Plants: Possibly monophagous, feeding on Saltmarsh Cordgrass (Sporobolus alterniflorus = Spartina alterniflora) (Ferguson, 1975) - View
Observation Methods: Comes to light to some extent, although Forbes (1954) mentions that they may not come as freely as other genera, accounting for some of their scarcity in collections
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Salt and Brackish Marshes
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: W3
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 SU
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: We have very few records for this species but its habitat and host plants are abundant along the coast and this species, as Forbes (1954) suspected, may be simply under collected using light traps. More thorough surveys of salt marsh habitats need to be conducted -- especially if larval surveys can be done -- before we can accurately assess the conservation status of this species in North Carolina.