Life History Aspects of Exyra semicrocea (Pitcher Plant Moth) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Abstract

With as little as 3% of southeastern Coastal Plain pitcher plant bogs remaining, it is important to understand the life-history aspects of the endemic organisms that comprise this community. In this study, we elucidate aspects of the life history of Exyra semicrocea (Pitcher Plant Moth) by incorporating unpublished portions of a thesis from 1978–1979 with recent fi eld and lab observations in 2010. We give morphological descriptions of both larvae and adults, as well as behavioral descriptions and mortality measures. In addition, population estimates of E. semicrocea were conducted from east Texas through North Carolina. Our surveys identifi ed four isolated pitcher plant sites where E. semicrocea may have been extirpated. This information has important conservation implications for E. semicrocea and is applicable to other pitcher plant-endemic arthropod species.