Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Noctuidae Members:	Meropleon Members:	18 NC Records

Meropleon diversicolor (Morrison, 1874) - Multicolored Sedgeminer Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Noctuidae

Subfamily:
Noctuinae

Tribe:
Apameini

P3 Number:
932413

MONA Number:
9427.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Beadle and Leckie (2012)

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

Adult Markings: The basal half of the forewing is gray, heavily shaded with blackish especially towards the inner margin, and with some reddish scaling over the fold (Forbes, 1954). The outer half is contrastingly whitish, shaded with pale gray. The antemedian line is strongly arched; at its farthest out, it is about twice as far from the base as from the postmedian. The lower half of the antemedian is blackish but filled with white. The postmedian is sinuous and white above the cubital vein (Cu1) but heavily black below. The orbicular is pale and oblique and preceded and followed by black lines. The reniform is obscure but has a straight, heavy black line forming the anterior edge. The claviform is a loop lying adjacent to the antemedian below the cell. The hindwings are whitish, shaded with pale gray. Meropleons ambifusca is similar but darker and has an antemedian line that is far less arcuate; at its closest to the postmedian, it is only slightly closer to it than to the base.

Wingspan: 30 mm (Forbes, 1954)

Structural photos

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) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Apart from one record from a high elevation summit, all of our records come from low elevation wetlands, mainly sandhill streamheads and beaver ponds.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae have been recorded boring within Woolgrass Bulrush (Scirpus cyperinus) (Bird, in Forbes, 1954). - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Sedge, Grass, and Rush Mires

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S3S4]

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

Comments:

Photo Gallery for Meropleon diversicolor - Multicolored Sedgeminer Moth

Photos: 11

	Recorded by: B. Bockhahn on 2024-09-05 Henderson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: B. Bockhahn on 2024-09-05 Henderson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-09-13 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2022-09-13 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-09-26 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2018-09-20 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2018-09-20 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Leigh Anne Carter on 2016-09-14 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: T. DeSantis on 2009-10-24 Camden Co. Comment:		Recorded by: ASH on 2007-10-15 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: SPH, SH, CH on 2000-09-08 Moore Co. Comment: wingspan = 32mm, forewing length = 15mm