Noctuidae
Photedes enervata No common name
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: 2 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 7 - Onslow - 1995-05-30 = Not seen since 2001 4 • i 3 1 - Carteret - 1996-06-13 g 2 Status Rank h 1 1 - Carteret - 1996-05-17 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=6 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: Noctuidae SUBFAMILY: Noctuinae TRIBE: Apameini TAXONOMIC_COMMENTS: One of seven species currently placed in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), two of which have been recorded in North Carolina. Lafontaine and Schmidt, however, considered enervata to be only provisionally belonging to this genus.
FIELD GUIDE DESCRIPTIONS: ONLINE PHOTOS: MPG, BOLD TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION, ADULTS: Forbes (1954) TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION, IMMATURE STAGES:
ID COMMENTS: Published descriptions of this moth are scarce, but Forbes (1954) included it in his key for Hypocoena despite the fact that he considered it a southern species that rarely, if at all, occurred within the geographic area covered by his monographs. He described it as "evenly dull brown, or fuscous, normally somewhat reddish, the darker veins hardly distinct." This description agrees with photographs of specimens on MPG and BOLD, some of which show more distinctly darkened veins, a bicolored discal spot, a dotted postmedian, and a terminal row of dark spots. Some also show a dark dash that in some cases reaches the postmedian line. Hindwings are tan or off-white. The more strongly marked individuals resemble Leucanias, especially L. incognita. Leucanias, however, can be distinguished by the hair on the surface of the eyes, which is absent in Chortodes. Leucanias also have pale veins, with less conspicuous dark lines in between.
DISTRIBUTION: Restricted to the Tidewater zone of Coastal Plain
FLIGHT COMMENT: Possibily univoltine. All of our records come from the spring, from April to June
HABITAT: Our records all come from the vicinity of salt marshes
FOOD: Possibly monophagous, feeding on Saltmarsh Cordgrass (Sporobolus alterniflorus = Spartina alterniflora) (Ferguson, 1975)
OBSERVATION_METHODS: Comes to light to some extent, although Forbes (1954) mentions that they may not come as freely as other genera, accounting for some of their scarcity in collections
NATURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM RANKS: G4 SU
STATE PROTECTION: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
COMMENTS: We have very few records for this species but its habitat and host plants are abundant along the coast and this species, as Forbes (1954) suspected, may be simply under collected using light traps. More thorough surveys of salt marsh habitats need to be conducted -- especially if larval surveys can be done -- before we can accurately assess the conservation status of this species in North Carolina.
March 2021 The Moths of North Carolina - Early Draft 1