Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFLimacodidae Members:
Euclea Members:
0 NC Records

Euclea nanina Dyar, 1899 - Nanina Oak-Slug Moth

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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Zygaenoidea Family: LimacodidaeP3 Number: 660052.00 MONA Number: 4697.10
Comments: One of five species in this genus that have been recorded in North America, possibly two of which occur in North Carolina.
Species Status: Barcoding indicates that Florida populations of nanina are well separated from Euclea delphinii, but it is unclear whether they hybridize with delphinii elsewhere, including North Carolina (Marc Eptstein, pers. comm. to JBS, 2015). More work is needed to determine whether there are any diagnostic characters that can be used to identify this species outside of Florida.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Similar to Euclea delphinii but smaller and with rounder spots. Dyar (1891) described this species (originally as E. nana) as having purplish brown forewings with a small round discal spot and two rounded pea-green patches, the subapical nearly circular and the sub-basal as larger and not deeply excavated externally. Both of the green patches are followed by orange ferruginous spots that are broken on the veins. In a key given in Neumoegen and Dyar (1894), the shape of the spots is the key trait separating nanina and delphinii, with the spots being rounded (the discal spot included) in nanina and angular in delphinii (the discal spot being elongated). This description was repeated by Kimball (1965), which is the only relatively recent description we have found (an illustration is also provided). For the moment, any specimens that appear to match the description of nanina should be collected and submitted for genetic and more detailed morphological analysis.
Wingspan: 15 mm (Neumoegen and Dyar, 1894; they give the expanse for delphinii as 17-22 mm)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable only by close inspection of structural features or by DNA analysis.
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)

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