Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Crambidae Members:	Evergestis Members:	51 NC Records

Evergestis rimosalis (Guenée, 1854) - Cross-striped Cabbageworm Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Pyraloidea

Family:
Crambidae

Subfamily:
Evergestinae

Tribe:
[Evergestini]

P3 Number:
80a1224

MONA Number:
4898.00

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

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

Technical Description, Adults: Munroe (1973)

Adult Markings: Although it lacks bold marks, this is a distinctive species due to its mottled appearance. The following description is based on that of Munroe (1973). The forewing is straw-colored, but heavily suffused with olivaceous or violaceous brown in a somewhat mottled pattern. The area beyond the postmedial line tends to be slightly darker than the rest, and there is a small subtriangular clear-yellowish patch at the apex that is divided by fuscous veins. The antemedial and postmedial lines are oblique and dentate. They are often obscure, with the postmedial generally the most prominent. The fringe is checkered with yellowish and fuscous. The hindwing has a pale translucent straw-color with a weak fuscous discocellular bar. The middle part of the postmedial line is represented as broken dots on the veins. There is a fuscous apical patch and a crenulated fuscous terminal line. The fringe is yellowish, with a weak darker midline.

Forewing Length: 10-14 mm (Munroe, 1973).

Adult Structural Features: Munroe (1973) has descriptions of the male and female genitalia.

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

Immatures and Development: The larvae mostly feed on cultivated members of the mustard family (Brassicaceae). The eggs are flat and are laid in small overlapping masses. When feeding on cabbage the larvae often bore into the heads and eat out the hearts (Munroe, 1973). They also feed on the leaves of this and other cultivated members of this family. The full-grown larva is bluish gray with black tubercles, has three or four black transverse stripes on each segment, and has a bright-yellow longitudinal band over the spiracles. The pupa is formed in a cocoon in the ground. Many local populations appear to be multivoltine.

Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Evergestis rimosalis is a wide-ranging species that occurs in Nova Scotia, the U.S., Central America, and several Caribbean islands. In the U.S. the range extends from the New England states southward to southern Florida, and westward to western Texas, central Oklahoma, central Kansas, southeastern Nebraska, Iowa, Indiana and Wisconsin. A few scattered populations have been documented farther west in New Mexico, Colorado, and California. This species occurs statewide in North Carolina except for the northern Coastal Plain where it appears to be absent.

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 have been observed nearly year-round in Florida and from April through October elsewhere in the range. As of 2023, our records are from late-April through early-October. Local populations in North Carolina appear to produce two broods per year.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Local populations are generally found in the vicinity of cultivated members of the Brassicaceae. They regularly show up in vegetable gardens where they attack collards, kale, cabbage and other members of the mustard family.

Larval Host Plants: This species is native to North America and presumably fed on native species in the mustard family such as Rorippa (Robinson et al., 2010) before the cultivation of crops. It has since mostly switched to feeding on cultivated crops such as Brussels sprouts, collards, cabbage, and kale. In North Carolina, larvae have been recorded on kale (Brassica oleracea). - View

Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and the larvae are commonly found on garden vegetables.

Wikipedia

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR[S4S5]

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

Comments: This species appears to be secure given that it is widespread and commonly exploits garden vegetables.

Photo Gallery for Evergestis rimosalis - Cross-striped Cabbageworm Moth

Photos: 25

	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2025-07-03 Mecklenburg Co. Comment: A reared adult from a larva collected on 2025-06-20 (see companion photographs).		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2025-06-20 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2025-06-20 Mecklenburg Co. Comment: Found on broccoli, adult reared on 7/3/25 after being kept outdoors during development.		Recorded by: F. Williams, S. Williams on 2025-05-27 Gates Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Niren Joshi on 2024-08-17 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Niren Joshi on 2024-08-17 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-09-26 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-04-29 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson, Stephen Dunn on 2022-09-17 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David L. Heavner on 2022-07-24 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2021-09-18 Cabarrus Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2021-07-19 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: tom ward on 2021-06-27 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2020-09-12 Orange Co. Comment: larva on Brassica oleracea (kale)
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-10-10 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-10-10 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-08-07 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-08-07 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-26 Guilford Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2019-07-26 Guilford Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-07-26 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-07-26 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2019-07-09 Mecklenburg Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2018-08-06 Yancey Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Robert Gilson on 0000-00-00 Mecklenburg Co. Comment: