Species Furcula borealis - White Furcula - Hodges#7936

7936

Latin for "northern"

wingspan: 3.1 - 4.2 cm

Adult:

forewing white with charcoal median band and charcoal patch coming from costa near apex; PM line single, often obscure, continuous across wing usually more sinuous than dentate; AM and terminal lines composed of several large black dots; some yellow or orange coloration often present next to AM and PM lines; thorax patterned distinctly with black scaling with some orange in what is called a "monkey face" with the surrounding thoracic scaling white.

hindwing pale grayish-white with black-dotted terminal line and dark discal spot

New Hampshire to Texas - Florida; Colorado; South Dakota.

Adults: April - August.

larval foodplant: wild cherry; possibly willow, poplar and other Prunus sp. (Moths of North Carolina)

larva; pupal winter shelter; breaking out of cocoon; adult

Other Furcula species. The "monkey face" pattern on borealis is much more distinct than in the other Furcula, which often have much more or less black scaling and orange scaling, obscuring the "monkey face" pattern. F.borealis can be distinguished from pale occidentalis specimens, by the lack of a triple PM line, which is present in occidentalis and the darker thoracic scaling of occidentalis: more black scaling in the "monkey face," and gray - as opposed to white in borealis - scaling on the rest of the thorax.

Moth Photographers Group - species page with photographs of living adults, larvae and pinned adults.

Noctuoidea of Canada - photograph of pinned adult and related species.

iNaturalist

Moths of North Carolina

Mass Moths