Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Yponomeutidae Members:	Atteva Members:	551 NC Records

Atteva aurea (Fitch, 1856) - Ailanthus Webworm Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Yponomeutoidea

Family:
Yponomeutidae

Subfamily:
Attevinae

Tribe:
[Attevini]

P3 Number:
36a0034

MONA Number:
2401.00

Comments: Wilson et al. (2010) found that what was previously thought to be a single species of Atteva actually was a pair of cryptic species. One is restricted to the neotropics, while the second (A. aurea) is found from Central America northward to southern Canada.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)

Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD

Technical Description, Adults: Wilson et al. (2010)

Adult Markings: The adults are unmistakable with their orange ground color on the forewing that is overlain with clusters of white spots that are surrounded by black coloration. The hindwing is translucent black. The bright coloration of this species likely serves as aposematic (warning) coloration.

Structural photos

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.

Immatures and Development: Larvae in the US and Canada feed on the leaves, flowers and developing seeds of the Tree-of-heaven, which is presumed to be the only host outside of Florida. The larvae live in communal nests that are made by webbing together several leaflets. The webbed nests often contain remnants of dead and dried leaflets and are sometimes large enough to encompass an entire leaf. Pupation occurs within the nest and local populations typically produce several overlapping generations annually. The life cycle requires about one month to complete (Crandall and Knight, 2017).

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Atteva aurea occurs in Central America and the Caribbean Islands northward across a broad swath of the eastern and central US to southern Canada. Scattered populations have also been found in California, Arizona and New Mexico. This species is found statewide in North Carolina, although it is rare at higher elevations in the mountains. Crandall and Knight (2017) noted that the larvae cannot tolerate freezing temperatures, and presumably recolonize areas in the eastern U.S annually. This occurs initially from southern locales, then from adults that emerge from new seasonal generations and disperse northward.

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
Immature 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 adults can be found year-round or essentially so in southern locales such as Florida. In North Carolina, the adults typically fly from mid-March through early to late-November.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: This species relies rather heavily on the Tree-of-heaven, which occurs in disturbed habitats such as woodland edges, pastures, vacant lots, roadsides and suburban environments. It can also be found in natural forests, particularly those that have been disturbed from timbering and road building.

Larval Host Plants: The only documented host in North Carolina as of 2024 is the Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima, Simaroubaceae), which is an ornamental that was introduced to North America from Asia around 1784. It subsequently spread throughout much of the eastern US and southern Canada (Wilson et al., 2010) where it is currently classified as an invasive species. The Ailanthus Webworm Moth is native to the New World and its native hosts are trees in the genus Simarouba (Simaroubaceae), a group that has tropical and subtropical affinities. One species, the Paradise-tree (Simarouba glauca), is native to central and southern Florida, while another (S. amara) is found as far north as Mexico. Atteva aurea presumably was restricted in the US to southern Florida, then spread northward as Ailanthus altissima expanded its range southward and westward and contacted one or both of the Simarouba species. It then spread northward using Ailanthus altissima as its host plant. All of our host records for North Carolina are for the Tree-of-heaven. This species is common in North Carolina, but absent from much of the Coastal Plain. The essentially statewide distribution of Atteva aurea suggests that it either is using other hosts plants (unlikely), or that vagrants occur on the Coastal Plain away from known host plant sites (Wilson et al., 2010). This species often occurs at lights at sites where there are no known Tree-of-heaven, which suggests that it is capable of making long-distance flights. - View

Observation Methods: The adult are attracted to lights and can be found nectaring during the day on ornamental and native plants . The larvae can be found in webbed nests on Tree-of-heaven.

Wikipedia

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SE

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments: This species was formerly resident in South America but has recently expanded into North America due to a host plant switch to Ailanthus.

Photo Gallery for Atteva aurea - Ailanthus Webworm Moth

450 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-11 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Nora Murdock, Robert Emmott on 2025-09-10 Haywood Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Marilyn Westphal. on 2025-09-05 Henderson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-02 Rowan Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-08-29 Moore Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-27 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-08-25 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Marilyn Westphal and Becky Elkin. on 2025-08-17 Henderson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-08-16 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Melody McMichael on 2025-08-09 Forsyth Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Marilyn Westphal. on 2025-08-09 Henderson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-08-02 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-27 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Dale Morgan, Patrick Coin, Julie Tuttle, Becky Watkins, et al. on 2025-07-26 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-25 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-07-20 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Rob Van Epps, Kevin Metcalf on 2025-07-20 Richmond Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-14 Rowan Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-07-04 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin, David George on 2025-06-29 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2025-06-17 Alamance Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-14 Rowan Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2025-05-23 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-21 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2025-04-22 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-04-19 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2025-04-19 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-04-18 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-04-15 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-11-19 Carteret Co. Comment: