Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« Home »
View PDFErebidae Members:
Metalectra Members:
259 NC Records

Metalectra discalis (Grote, 1876) - Common Fungus Moth

Metalectra discalisMetalectra discalisMetalectra discalis
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Erebidae		Subfamily:
Boletobiinae		P3 Number:
930679		 MONA Number:
8499.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The ground color is umber, strongly mottled with slate gray, brown, black, red, and luteous (Forbes, 1954). The antemedian is double and luteous, with a brown center. Its course is somewhat excurved and waved. The postmedian is single and black, following a sinuous but even course. It is followed by yellowish patch at the costa and by a series of black and luteous dots over the inner portion. A similar series of black and luteous dots occur along the veins in the subterminal area. The strongest line is the median, which is black, fairly broad, and often extending across the width of the wing. The reniform is also black, often followed by a luteous bar. Hindwings are similar in coloration and pattern to the forewings.

Metalectra quadrisignata is similar but often has a more extensive area of gray, often with a purplish sheen or rose shading. The luteous dots are sometimes absent and the median bar is usually narrower than in discalis, more undulating or incomplete. In males, the structural tufts of hair pencils on the legs are often more useful than the wing pattern and coloration. In relatively fresh specimens, the pair of tufts on the second abdominal segment are also diagnostic.
Adult Structural Features: In males, the fore tibiae and coxa and the hind tibiae possess large tufts of hair pencils. In M. quadrisignata, in contrast, no hair pencils are present and only a small amount of rough scaling (Forbes, 1954). The second segment of the abdomen has a pair of scale tufts that are absent in quadrisignata.
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.
Metalectra discalis
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: Wagner et al. (2011) list woodlands and forests as habitat. Our records come areas where hardwoods are present, from both dry and wet sites.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on bracket fungus and other fungi, and have also been reared on algae (Wagner et al., 2011). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Hardwood Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S5]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Metalectra discalis - Common Fungus Moth

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

Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-24
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2025-05-20
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-05-10
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: John Petranka, Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-05-08
Harnett Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-09-14
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-05
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-09-04
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-09-02
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-25
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: R. Newman on 2024-08-14
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-03
Mitchell Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-03
Mitchell Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-07-21
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-07-01
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Stephen Dunn on 2024-06-29
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-22
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-06-19
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-05-30
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-05-24
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-04-29
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2024-04-17
New Hanover Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Avery Young on 2023-09-24
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-08-10
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2023-08-10
Wilson Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-30
Swain Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-25
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-24
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-13
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-06-04
Madison Co.
Comment: