Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Erebidae Members:	Idia Members:	361 NC Records

Idia julia (Barnes & McDunnough, 1918) - Julia's Idia

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Erebidae

Subfamily:
Herminiinae

P3 Number:
930476

MONA Number:
8328.00

Comments: One of eighteen species recorded in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), twelve of which are found in North Carolina.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954); Rings et al. (1992)

Adult Markings: A small, blackish Idia that is very similar in size and color to Idia rotundalis but has more conspicuous white markings on the forewing, with noticeable white spots on the costa marking the beginnings of the transverse lines. The orbicular and reniform are also usually visible as white spots that contrast strongly with the blackish ground color (Forbes, 1954). The hindwing also has noticeable pale lines crossing the dark ground color, but is less strongly banded than in Idia forbesii. The underside of the hindwing is also somewhat banded but less so than in forbesi.

Wingspan: 20 mm (Forbes, 1954)

Adult Structural Features: Belongs to Forbes' subgenus Pseudaglossa, characterized by long palps -- reaching the vertex -- and with the third segment very long, conical, and smoothly scaled (Forbes, 1954).

Structural photos

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].

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) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: We have records from a wide variety of forested and open habitats, including maritime forests, peatlands, savannas, bottomland hardwoods, mesic slopes, and dry upland woodlands.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on dead leaves and other detritus (Wagner et al., 2011). - View

Observation Methods: Comes well to bait and to blacklights.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Fields

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR SNR [S4S5]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Idia julia - Julia's Idia

74 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: B. Bockhahn on 2025-06-03 Currituck Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-06 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-06 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-22 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Kenneth Geisert, David Bradley, Julie Tuttle, Patrick Coin, Kaitlyn Elliott, Becky Watkins on 2024-08-17 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Stephen Dunn on 2024-06-29 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-26 Yancey Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall, David George, and David Bradley on 2024-05-07 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2024-04-29 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-09-29 Harnett Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-08-18 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-08-18 Caswell Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-08-18 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-26 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George on 2023-07-21 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-19 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-16 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-07-16 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-06-25 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-06-18 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-06-18 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-06-14 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-06-14 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-06-03 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-05-23 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-05-21 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-05-17 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson, Stephen Dunn on 2022-09-17 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George on 2022-08-19 Durham Co. Comment: