Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
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View PDFErebidae Members:
Macrochilo Members:
119 NC Records

Macrochilo litophora (Grote, 1873) - Brown-lined Owlet Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: ErebidaeSubfamily: HerminiinaeP3 Number: 930510.00 MONA Number: 8358.00
Comments: One of seven species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), six of which have been recorded in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The head, thorax, and both pairs of wings are clay-colored and lightly shaded with pale gray (Forbes, 1954). The lines are single and typically fine and light brown, but can be fairly strong and dark. The antemedian is slightly curved at the costa and then runs evenly to the inner margin. The postmedian is even but strongly curved, forming a smooth curve below the cell. The subterminal is typically blurred or faint, running straight from the apex to the inner margin. A dark adterminal line is present in our specimens, followed by more obscure terminal lines and a brown fringe. Zanclognatha pedipilalis is similar in color and pattern but is larger and typically has a strong subterminal line that does not reach the costa and a subterminal luteous spot.
Wingspan: 22 mm (Forbes, 1954)
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.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

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