Moths of North Carolina
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Papaipema Members:
1 NC Records

Papaipema eryngii Bird, 1917 - Rattlesnake-master Borer

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NoctuidaeSubfamily: NoctuinaeTribe: ApameiniP3 Number: 932469.00 MONA Number: 9494.00
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: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Bird (1917); Forbes (1954)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Bird (1917)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-large Papaipema, with a dark reddish brown to chocolate ground color and prominent white basal, orbicular, claviform, and reniform spots. A pale yellow apical spot is also present and the hindwings are fuscous brown. Papaipema marginidens and birdi are similar -- both with white basal spots -- but are not as dark as eryngii and possess a brown spot within the orbicular that is usually absent in eryingi. The central lunule of the reniform is also yellow in birdi, cream in eryngii, and white in marginidens; in marginidens, the lunule extends through the two basal spots whereas it is completely contained within the spot ring in eryngii (Forbes, 1954).
Wingspan: 35-48 mm (Bird, 1917)
Adult Structural Features: The male valve is described by Bird (1917) and illustrated by Forbes (1954). It is quite distinctive in terms of both the truncated shape of the cucullus and the very large, sickle-shaped digitus. These features are quite different from those of marginidens and birdi and can identify this species where the wing patterns are worn or otherwise inconclusive.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The life history and early stages are described in detail in Bird's (1917) description of the species. Eggs are laid in the fall and hatch in the following June. The larvae are deep purplish brown, with constrasting white dorsal, subdorsal, and substigmatal lines that are broken on the first four abdominal segments. The head is honey-yellow and the anal plate is brown and heavily rugose. Larvae of Papaipema cerrusata are similar but have a black anal plate and also differ in color.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Recorded at only a single site in the southern part of the Outer Coastal Plain. This is the only known population east of the Appalachians, with the next nearest located in central Kentucky.
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)

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