Polia nimbosa Stormy Arches
Creators: name: Pogue, Michael G.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Noctuidae
Polia
Polia nimbosa

description: 21. Polia nimbosa (Guenée) Stormy Arches   
(Figs. 39–40, Map 22)  
 Identification: Forewing length 21–26 mm. Frons with a horizontal black bar between the eyes and just below the antennae. Male and female antennae are filiform. A dorsal tuft of scales is present in the middle of the mesothorax. Forewing ground color is white with black markings giving an overall light gray appearance. Orbicular and reniform spots are distinct and outlined in black. There is a series of small black spots along costa from basal line to just below apex. Terminal line consists of a series of black crescent-shaped spots between the wing veins. Hindwing is dark gray with a faint postmedial line.   
 Flight period: Late June through August.   
 MAP 22. Collecting localities of Polia nimbosa.   
 Collected localities: North Carolina: Haywood Co., Balsam Mtn. picnic area on Flat Creek trail, Balsam Mtn. road on Flat Creek trail, Rough Fork trail at Polls Gap on Balsam Mtn. road 6.1 mi N of Blue Ridge Parkway, Cataloochee pull of at Sal Patch Gap, Cataloochee service road off Cataloochee road, Balsam Mtn. road at Polls Gap on Hemphill Bald trail, trail to Hannah Hogden Cemetery, Mt. Sterling trail, Mt. Sterling trail 0.72 mi from Trailhead, Mt. Sterling trail, Mt. Sterling trail 1.54 mi from Trailhead, Purchase Knob, Purchase Knob at house, Purchase Knob E of house in field, Purchase Knob E of house in forest, Purchase Knob N of house in forest, Purchase Knob NE of house in field, Purchase Knob NW of house in forest, Purchase Knob 0.5 mi N of gate; Swain Co., 200 yds. up Tow String road in meadow, Beetree Ridge, Big Cove Rd. site b, 1.2 mi NE of Clingman’s Dome parking lot on Noland Divide trail, 3.3 mi NE of Clingman’s Dome parking lot on Fork Ridge trail, boglet 0.5 mi NW of Collins Creek picnic area, 5.6 mi SW of Jct. 441 and Clingman’s Dome road on Noland Divide trail, Noland Creek, Noland Divide trailhead, Tricorner Knob, Upper Noland Divide trail ca. Clingman’s Dome, Forney Creek 0.4 km up trail from lake. Tennessee Co., Sevier Co., W of Campsite 20, Cove Forest pullout on Rt. 441, 1 mi above Chimneys Campground, Hwy. 441 at upper hairpin, Campsite 27 on Jake’s Creek trail, below Campsite 27 on Jake’s Creek trail, near Campsite 27 on Jake’s Creek trail, above Campsite 27 on Jake’s Creek trail, Jake’s Creek Trail, 1.3 mi W of Jct. 441 and Clingman’s Dome road on Road Prong Trail, Road Prong Trail at road, ca. 7 mi S of Sugarlands Visitor Center. (162 specimens)   
 Elevation range: 2120–6000 ft. (646–1829 m)   
 General distribution: This is a widely distributed species from Manitoba, Alberta, and British Columbia in Canada, and from New Hampshire to North Carolina and Tennessee in the eastern U.S. west to Wisconsin, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.   
 Larval hosts: Feeds on woody shrubs and trees, including alder (Alnus spp., Betulaceae), red alder (Alnus rubra Bong., Betulaceae), huckleberry (Gaylussacia sp., Ericaceae), vine maple (Acer circinatum Pursh, Aceraceae), and gooseberry (Ribes sp., Grossulariaceae) (Godfrey 1972).
description: Published as part of Pogue, Michael G., 2010, The Hadeninae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA 2380, pp. 1-75 in Zootaxa 2380 (1) on pages 29-30, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2380.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5312376