Moths of North Carolina

Scientific Name:	Common Name:		Family (Alpha):

View PDF	Noctuidae Members:	Papaipema Members:	16 NC Records
Papaipema speciosissima (Grote & Robinson, 1868) - Osmunda Borer Moth

No image for this species.

Taxonomy

Superfamily: Noctuoidea	Family: Noctuidae	Subfamily: Noctuinae	Tribe: Apameini	P3 Number: 932475	MONA Number: 9482.00
Comments: One of 44 species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010, 2015), 30 of which have been recorded in North Carolina

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.


Flight Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Our records come from seepage slopes, savannas, bottomland forests, and peatlands.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae bore into ferns, particularly Royal Fern (Osmunda spectabilis), but also Cinnamon Fern (Osmundastrum cinnamomeum) and Interrupted Fern (Claytosmunda claytoniana) (Wagner et al., 2011). - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Wet Fernlands

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 SNR [S2S4]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments:

Papaipema speciosissima (Grote & Robinson, 1868) - Osmunda Borer Moth