Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
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View PDFNolidae Members:
Meganola Members:
260 NC Records

Meganola minuscula (Zeller, 1872) - Confused Meganola

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Noctuoidea Family: NolidaeSubfamily: NolinaeP3 Number: 931121.00 MONA Number: 8983.00
Comments: One of eight described species in this genus that occur in North America, three of which are found in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: All three of our Meganola species are relatively small gray moths with similar markings. Compared to Meganola phylla, M. minuscula has a relatively weak spot at the center of the costa and weak shading at the base of the costa, but comparatively stronger lines, with the postmedian double rather than single opposite the cell (Dyar, 1898; Forbes, 1948). Compared to Meganola spodia, M. minuscula is a lighter, whitish or silvery gray without a brown tint, as is particularly evident on the hindwing, which is much darker in spodia. The costal spot on the forewing is also triangular in minuscula rather than rectangular as it is in spodia (Franclemont, 1985).
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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