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| Common Name | Northern Broken-dash by Roger Rittmaster => female, Durham Co.
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| Scientific Name | Polites egeremet
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| Link to BAMONA species account. |
| Map | Click on a county for list of all database records for the species in that county.
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| Distribution | DISTRIBUTION: Scattered across the state; as with the Southern Broken-dash, found in all three provinces -- most often found in VA border counties, though this is not obvious from the range map. However, unlike the latter species, it is more "numerous" in the Piedmont and Mountains than in the Coastal Plain. Recorded along the Outer Banks. Possibly present in all counties, despite an absence of records for most of the western and central Coastal Plain, where there are relatively few observers. However, this scarcity of records in the western and central Coastal Plain seems to be real.
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| Abundance | ABUNDANCE: Uncommon in the northern Piedmont and northern Mountains; rare to uncommon in the central and southern portions of these provinces, and often rare near the SC border. Very rare to rare in the Coastal Plain, mainly in the lower portions toward the coast. It has been found in some numbers in meadows in Ashe County, at Mayo River State Park, at Caswell Game Land, and at Kerr Reservoir. All of these above four places are in counties along the VA state line, and thus it is clearly more numerous in northern counties than farther south. Much of its apparent scarcity might be due to its difficulty of identification; many observers are hesitant to report this species, as a result.
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| Flight | FLIGHT PERIOD: Two broods downstate; the latter half of May to early July, and mid- or late July to mid-September. One main brood in the Mountains, probably early June to early August, with a small brood in late August and September.
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| Habitat | HABITAT: As with the Southern Broken-dash, this species favors damp ground, and is infrequent in dry places. It can be found in wet meadows or bogs in the Mountains, moist powerline clearings, lake and marsh edges, savannas, and edges of bottomlands. It does occur in weedy fields and other mesic places such as upland Mountain meadows, but it is not to be intentionally looked for in dry sites. Thus, the habitat is nearly identical to that of the Southern Broken-dash, but it occurs more often in cooler climates, throughout the Piedmont and Mountains.
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| | Plants | FOOD AND NECTAR PLANTS: Foodplants are panicgrasses (Dichanthelium spp.). The species nectars on many flowers; I have had particular luck with finding them nectaring on Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) in the Piedmont.
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| Comments | COMMENTS: Comparisons of abundance and habitat in NC with those in the Northeast yield interesting results. The references all indicate that the Northern Broken-dash is common in the Northeast and widespread in "open fields and meadows, most common in moist but not wet situations" (Glassberg 1993). Opler's references do not even mention a preference for moist areas. Away from the Mountains, I nearly always see it in moist places, even though I spend 60-70% of my time in upland habitats. However, in Ashe County I have found it in meadows away from damp places. Thus, it seems to prefer less damp areas in the Mountains than downstate.
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State Rank | S4 | | State Status | |
Global Rank | G5 | | Federal Status | |
| Synonym | Wallengrenia egeremet
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| Other Name | Northern Broken-Dash
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