Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Balsa Members: 54 NC Records

Balsa malana (Fitch, 1856) - Many-dotted Appleworm Moth

Balsa malanaBalsa malanaBalsa malana
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Balsinae		P3 Number:
931417		 MONA Number:
9662.00		 Other Common Name:
Many-dotted Balsa
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.
Balsa malanaAlamance 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: Our records come from both riparian and upland hardwood forests.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed primarily on apple and crabapple (Malus spp.) but have also been reported from serviceberry (Amelanchier), and cherry and plum (Prunus spp.); reports from other hosts such as elm (Ulmus) are probably in error. (Wagner et a., 2011). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Rosaceous Thickets
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 Balsa malana - Many-dotted Appleworm Moth

Photos: 9
Balsa malana
Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-04-17
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Balsa malana
Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-07-28
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Balsa malana
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-06-13
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Balsa malana
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-09-08
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Balsa malana
Recorded by: Steve Hall on 2019-05-06
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Balsa malana
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2018-09-08
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Balsa malana
Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2018-05-11
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Balsa malana
Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2013-05-16
Cabarrus Co.
Comment:
Balsa malana
Recorded by: Paul Scharf on 2011-06-20
Warren Co.
Comment: