Moths of North Carolina
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Arequipa Members:
5 NC Records

Arequipa turbatella Walker, 1863 - No Common Name

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Pyraloidea Family: CrambidaeSubfamily: CrambinaeTribe: CrambiniP3 Number: 800896.00 MONA Number: 5392.00
Comments: THe genus Arequipa is monotypic with the one currently recognized species restricted to North America.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Fernald (1896); Forbes (1923)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: In this species the head, palps, thorax, fringe and forewing ground color is snow white. The median line is incomplete and fragmented, and is represented by a series of dark-brown to blackish diffuse spots. The spots begin near the inner margin at around one-half the wing length and run obliquely outward before terminating near the costa. The subterminal line consists of either a line of dark-brown to blackish spots, or a dull yellowish line that projects from the costa towards the outer margin for about a third of its length, then curves sharply backwards and runs roughly parallel to the outer margin to the sub-tornal area of the inner margin. The terminal line is represented as a row of six or seven black dots, with the one nearest the apex often elongated (Fernald, 1896). The hindwing is white with a white fringe.
Wingspan: 22-25 mm (Fernald, 1896).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larval life history is undocumented.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Arequipa turbatella is found in the eastern U.S. and adjoining areas of Canada (Ontario; Quebec; Nova Scotia). The range in the U.S. is from Maine southwestward through the Appalachian region to western North Carolina, and westward to eastern Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois and eastern Iowa. As of 2023, all of our records are from the Blue Ridge.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: The flight season is relatively short with records from June through August in different areas of the range. As of 2023, our records extend from mid-July through mid-August. This species is univoltine in North Carolina.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: We have very little information on habitat use; one site is from a mountain bog and another from a mesic hardwood forest.
Larval Host Plants: The hosts are apparently undocumented. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights.
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR [S2S3]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: We have only five records as of 2023 for this seemingly uncommon species that is at the southern limit of its range in western North Carolina.

 Photo Gallery for Arequipa turbatella - No common name

Photos: 2

Recorded by: Alan Kneidel on 2018-08-07
Yancey Co.
Comment: iNat: Photo 22765916		Recorded by: J. Merrill Lynch on 2017-07-17
Watauga Co.
Comment: