Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Crambidae Members:	Lipocosmodes Members:	22 NC Records

Lipocosmodes fuliginosalis (Fernald, 1888) - Sooty Lipocosmodes

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Pyraloidea

Family:
Crambidae

Subfamily:
Glaphyriinae

Tribe:
[Glaphyriini]

P3 Number:
80a1214

MONA Number:
4888.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)

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

Technical Description, Adults: Munroe (1972)

Adult Markings: In this species the forewing is mostly fuscous, with whitish coloration typically limited to the wing base, in the apical and terminal areas, and narrowly along the costa (Munroe, 1972). The antemedial and postmedial lines are obscure and fuscous, and there are areas of raised scales on the discocellular and behind the end of the cell. The hindwing has the anterior part light gray, with the remainder largely fuscous. A dark postmedial line is present at around two-thirds the wing length, and a pale bar is just basal to the anal angle and separates the medial from the postmedial tufts of dark raised scales.

Wingspan: 5-6 mm (Munroe, 1972).

Adult Structural Features: Munroe (1972) has descriptions of the male and female genitalia.

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: The larval life history is undocumented.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Lipocosmodes fuliginosalis is found in eastern North America, including southern Canada (Winnepeg; Ontario; Quebec) and much of the eastern U.S. from Maine and other New England states southward to southern Florida and westward to central Texas, eastern Oklahoma, eastern Nebraska and Minnesota. We have records from all three physiographic provinces, but with relatively few from the Coastal Plain and Blue Ridge.

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
Flight Comments: The adults fly rear-round in Florida and have been observed from March through October in other areas of the range, with a seasonal peak from June through August. As of 2023, our records range from mid-May to mid-September. Our limited data suggests that Coastal Plain populations may be bivoltine, with a late spring and late summer brood.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Our records include wet grassy habitats in the Piedmont and Outer Coastal Plain, a low-elevation mountain meadow, and a xeric old field in the Fall-line Sandhills. The common denominator appears to be the presence of open, grassy habitats.

Larval Host Plants: The hosts are poorly documented, but there is an adult in the USNM collection that was reared on LeConte's Thistle (Cirsium lecontei) in Louisiana (Solis, 2008). This species is found in wet Longleaf Pine savannas and flatwoods in North Carolina, so other hosts are undoubtedly used in North Carolina. - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Successional and Semi-Natural Grasslands

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S3S4

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

Comments: This species appears to be fairly common in North Carolina and reasonably secure.

Photo Gallery for Lipocosmodes fuliginosalis - Sooty Lipocosmodes

Photos: 15

	Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2025-09-24 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2025-09-24 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2025-09-24 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-24 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-14 Watauga Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-07-01 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-10 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-25 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-06-03 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-05-17 Chatham 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 2022-06-04 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Bo Sullivan and Steve Hall on 2021-06-08 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Ed Corey on 2018-07-18 Ashe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: T. DeSantis on 2012-09-13 Camden Co. Comment: