Erebidae

Metalectra albilinea White-lined Fungus

10 9 8 n=0 7 High Mt. 6 N 5 u 4 3 m 2 b 1 e 0 r 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 NC counties: 3 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec o 10 f 9 n=0 • = Sighting or Collection 8 • 7 Low Mt. High counts of: • in NC since 2001 F 6 • l 5 8 - New Hanover - 1994-09-27 = Not seen since 2001 4 • i 3 5 - New Hanover - 1994-07-11 g 2 Status Rank h 1 3 - New Hanover - 1994-08-09 0 NC US NC Global t 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 D Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec a 10 10 9 9 t 8 n=0 8 n=21 e 7 Pd 7 CP s 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Three periods to each month: 1-10 / 11-20 / 21-31 FAMILY: SUBFAMILY: TRIBE: TAXONOMIC_COMMENTS: One of eleven species in this that occur in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), six of which have been recorded in North Carolina.

FIELD GUIDE DESCRIPTIONS: ONLINE PHOTOS: TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION, ADULTS: Richards (1941); Brower (1941) TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION, IMMATURE STAGES: Wagner et al. (2011)

ID COMMENTS: Metalectra albilinea is one of two small, similarly patterned and colored Fungus , the other being M. richardsi. Both species have reddish-brown forewings and paler, relatively unmarked hindwings; in other species of Metalectra, the hindwings are more similar in pattern and color to the forewings (Forbes, 1954). As described by Richards (quoted by Brower, 1941), albilinea usually has a redder shade between the reniform and postmedian, a more grayish-brown shade in the subterminal area, a weaker or more narrow median line, a more prominently checkered fringe, and a somewhat more marked hindwing. The white subterminal line is also more prominent and continuous in albilinea.

DISTRIBUTION: All but one of our records come from sites located along the mouth of the Cape Fear River, including Bald Head Island as well as sites located on the mainland as far upstream as the Roan Island area. It has also been recorded at a site in Pender County, again located within just 10 miles of the ocean.

FLIGHT COMMENT: This species appears to fly throughout most of the growing season in North Carolina, with no evidence of separate flights.

HABITAT: Most of our records come from Maritime Evergreen Forests on the barrier islands and from the similar Coastal Fringe Evergreen Forests on the mainland; a couple of records come from swamp forest or bottomland forest habitats a short distance inland.

FOOD: Feeds on fungus and bark algae (Wagner et al., 2011).

OBSERVATION_METHODS: Appears to come well to blacklights and probably also comes to bait, as do other members of this genus.

NATURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM RANKS: GNR S2S3

STATE PROTECTION: Listed as Significantly Rare by the Natural Heritage Program. That designation, however, does not confer any legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

COMMENTS: This species appears to have a very limited range in North Carolina, where it occupies a narrow range of habitats at sites located mainly along the mouth of the Cape Fear River. The reasons for these apparent limitations are not known, with no help provided by the general description of the larval foods. However, both the scarcity of records, its apparent high habitat specificty, and the fact that most of the sites where it occurs in the state are threatened by either sea level rise or coastal development indicate that it should be considered to be of significant conservation concern within North Carolina.

March 2021 The Moths of North Carolina - Early Draft 1