Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Lithophane Members: 12 NC Records

Lithophane abita Brou & Lafontaine, 2009 - Cypress Pinion

Lithophane abita
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Noctuinae		Tribe:
Xylenini		P3 Number:
932555		 MONA Number:
9928.10		 Other Common Name:
Bald Cypress Pinion
Comments: One of 51 species in this genus that occur in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010, 2015), 25 of which have been recorded in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Leckie and Beadle (2018)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Brou and Lafontaine (2009)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized, gray Pinion with ochre shading around the reniform spot. The ground color of the forewing is a fairly uniform pale gray, somewhat darker in some specimens. In addition to the orange-brown shading around the reniform, a black dash in the fold connecting the antemedian and postmedian lines is distinctive (Brou and Lafontaine, 2009); a black crescent also occurs below the reniform. Hindwings are pinkish-fuscous. Lithophane adipel has a similar black dash but is usually more darkly colored and lacks the ochre shade at the reniform.
Forewing Length: 15.7–18.0 mm, males; 15.6–18.4 mm, females (Brou and Lafontaine, 2009)
Adult Structural Features: Reproductive structures of the male are distinctive and are described and illustrated by Brou and Lafontaine (2009).
Structural photos
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Apparently not described but a photograph taken in 2014 by George Smiley is shown on BugGuide. Like the larvae of Cutina, it is green with a series of narrow pale lines. The head is unlined, however, unlike the Cutina, and he spiracles are ringed with black and white.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Probably occurs throughout at least the Outer Coastal Plain
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Lithophane abita
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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