Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Bellura Members: 21 NC Records

Bellura obliqua (Walker, 1865) - Cattail Borer Moth

Bellura obliquaBellura obliquaBellura obliqua
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Noctuinae		Tribe:
Arzamini		P3 Number:
932517		 MONA Number:
9525.00		 Other Common Name:
Cattail Diver
Species Status: Genetic barcoding shows little difference between Bellura obliqua, densa, anoa, and brehmei. These species vary greatly in color and pattern with strong overlap between species; names are frequently intermixed in the clusters formed by barcoding. The larvae are supposedly separated by their host plants but otherwise the taxonomic distinctiveness of the members of this group is unclear. Where specimens conform to the descriptions given by Forbes and others, we assign them to the traditional species. More problematic individuals are placed in the generic account.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The largest species in this complex; a wing length measurement is helpful in its identification. The ground color of the forewings is pale grayish wood brown, with a contrastingly paler basal area, a dark brown subterminal area, and an ashy, blue-gray terminal area (Forbes, 1954). The base is The antemedian is represented by the boundary between the pale basal and somewhat darker median area. The postmedian is single, fine, black, and regularly scalloped. The spots are outlined with fine brown, surrounding a pale ring with a brown center. The orbicular is a minute horizontal ellipse or absent. The reniform is a narrow oblique ellipse. Schmidt (MPG, accessed 07-21) states that in B. obliqua the angle is acute between the reniform and costa, whereas in densa the angle is close to 90 degrees. The hindwing is light fuscous with a dark discal shade, becoming darker towards the margin.
Wingspan: Mostly over 40 mm in males; over 50 mm in females (Forbes, 1954)
Adult Structural Features: The forewing is less squared off in this species compared to Bellura densa (MPG, accessed 07-21).
Structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The following life history account is mostly based on that of Penko and Pratt (1986) and Center et al. (2002). Females deposit masses of 25-40 eggs below the tips of young cattail leaves, with individual females laying 225 eggs or more. The hatchlings burrow directly into the cattail leaf and mine the leaves for several decimeters downward. The second instars exit the mines then crawl down the stem and feed on either the stems or beneath leaf sheaths of the outer leaves. As they grow larger they become progressively more solitary and begin to burrow within the stalk through the crown, which typically causes the central leaves to yellow and die. The fully grown larvae can reach 5-6 cm in length. After finishing feeding, the final instar pupates within a hollowed out chamber within the stalk that is lined loosely with silk. In northern populations the mature larvae overwinter in cattail stalks or in upland locations and pupate in the spring.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Bellura obliquaAlamance 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.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Cattail marshes
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on cattails (Typha spp.) (Forbes, 1954). Other reported hosts include American Lotus (Nelumbo lutea), Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata), and water-lily (Nymphaea) (Covell, 1984; McCabe, 1991; Heppner, 2007). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Cattail and Tall Grass Marshes
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S3S4]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Bellura obliqua - Cattail Borer Moth

Photos: 13
Bellura obliquaRecorded by: R. Newman on 2025-06-20
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Bellura obliquaRecorded by: Stephen Hall, David George, and David Bradley on 2024-05-07
Durham Co.
Comment:
Bellura obliquaRecorded by: Stephen Hall on 2022-05-03
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Bellura obliquaRecorded by: R. Newman on 2022-04-30
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Bellura obliquaRecorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2021-06-28
Cumberland Co.
Comment: 		Bellura obliquaRecorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2021-06-28
Cumberland Co.
Comment:
Bellura obliquaRecorded by: R. Newman on 2021-06-26
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Bellura obliquaRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-04-11
Wake Co.
Comment:
Bellura obliquaRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-04-11
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Bellura obliquaRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-04-11
Wake Co.
Comment:
Bellura obliquaRecorded by: Lenny Lampel on 2017-04-28
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment: 		Bellura obliquaRecorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 2013-05-10
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment:
Bellura obliquaRecorded by: T. DeSantis on 2009-04-22
Camden Co.
Comment: