Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFCrambidae Members: Thaumatopsis Members: 12 NC Records

Thaumatopsis edonis (Grote, 1880) - Grassland Thaumatopsis

Thaumatopsis edonisThaumatopsis edonisThaumatopsis edonis
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Pyraloidea		 Family:
Crambidae		Subfamily:
Crambinae		Tribe:
Crambini		P3 Number:
80a1471		 MONA Number:
5438.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Fernald (1896).]                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is a rather distinctive species due to its coloration and patterning, large size for a Crambini, and pectinate antennae that are held upwards when an individual is resting. The head and thorax are light reddish-brown, the large palps vary from light brown to reddish-brown, and the prominent antennae are dark brown and bipectinate in the males. The forewing has a prominent, diffuse pink or salmon-colored streak along the costal and subcostal region of the wing that extends from near the wing base to the outer margin. The veins are concolorous with the streak, except for a whitish middle vein that extends from the wing base before fading at around two-thirds the wing length. The areas between the veins and dorsal to the pink streak are heavily shaded with varying amounts dark brown. The termen has a line of four or five faint brown dots, and the fringe is brown overall with three or four finely striated brown lines within. The hindwing is pale brown with a paler fringe.
Wingspan: 34-36 mm (Fernald, 1896).
Structural photos
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: Thaumatopsis edonis appears to be an uncommon but broadly distributed species, with scattered records across much of the eastern U.S. The range extends from Maine to southern Florida and westward to central Texas, central Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky, with one isolated record from northern Nebraska.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Thaumatopsis edonisAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Flight Comments: Local populations appear to be univoltine throughout the range with a brief flight season centered on September and October. The adults have been observed from August through November in different areas of the range. As of 2023, our records are from late-September through mid-October.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: All of our records are from the Sandhills and mostly from fire-maintained Longleaf Pine forests, with a few sites in the vicinity of seeps or headwater streams. The sites typically have well-developed ground vegetation with a diverse mix of grasses and forbs.
Larval Host Plants: The host plants are apparently undocumented. Heppner (2007) lists grasses, but we are unaware of any actual observations of larvae, and it may be based on the common host plants of related species. - View
Observation Methods: The adults are attracted to lights and can be flushed from ground vegetation and netted.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Loamy, Fire-maintained Herblands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR SNR [S1S3]
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 rare throughout its range, with widely scattered populations across the eastern U.S. North Carolina populations are restricted to fire-maintained communities in the Sandhills.

 Photo Gallery for Thaumatopsis edonis - Grassland Thaumatopsis

Photos: 11
Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-02
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-02
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-02
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-02
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-02
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-02
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin, Steve Hall, and Bo Sullivan. on 2022-09-27
Moore Co.
Comment: 		Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin, Steve Hall, and Bo Sullivan. on 2022-09-26
Scotland Co.
Comment:
Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin, Steve Hall, and Bo Sullivan. on 2022-09-26
Scotland Co.
Comment: 		Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2020-09-24
Scotland Co.
Comment:
Thaumatopsis edonis
Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2020-09-24
Scotland Co.
Comment: