Feralia major J.B. Smith in Southeast Louisiana by Vernon Antoine Brou Jr., 74320 Jack Loyd Road, Abita Springs, Louisiana 70420 email: [email protected] The pretty greenish noctuid moth Feralia major J.B. Smith (Fig. 1) occurs from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and Ontario to most of the eastern United States from March-May according to Covell (1984). F. major is one of three species of Feralia covered in detail by Forbes (1954), who discusses the similarity and confusion of major to Feralia jocasa Guenee. Knudson & Bordelon (1999) report major occurring in Texas during January- February. I have taken major commonly in only two Louisiana parishes (Fig. 2) mostly due to a lack of collecting by me during January in other areas of the state. The month of January has the coldest temperatures in Louisiana, the time at which major's peak flight period appears to occur. In over 22 years of continuous collecting in St. Tammany Parish, adult specimens have shown consistent bimodal flight peaks occurring at the end of December and end of January (Fig. 3). Whether or not the flight period peak is suppressed by the cold January temperatures or the bimodal flight peaks are a normal attribute is difficult to determine with confidence. Perhaps a much larger sample population may provide an answer. Fig. 1. Feralia major J.B. Smith, male. 40 Dec Jan Feb Mar 20 number of adults 0 Fig. 3. Feralia major taken at sec.24T6SR12E, 4.2 mi NE Fig. 2. Parish records for Feralia major. Abita Springs, Louisiana. n = 832 Literature Cited Covell, Jr., C.V. 1984. A field guide to moths eastern North America. The Peterson Field Guide Series No. 30. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston. xv + 469pp., 64 plates. Forbes, W.T.M. 1954. Lepidoptera of New York and neighboring states, Noctuidae, Part III, Cornell Univ. Agr. Exp. St. Mem. 329. Ithaca, New York, 433 pp. Knudson, E. and C. Bordelon 1999. Texas Lepidoptera Survey, Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Texas 2000 edit. .