Moths of North Carolina
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104 NC Records

Digrammia eremiata (Guenée, [1858]) - Three-lined Angle

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: EnnominaeTribe: MacariiniP3 Number: 910805.00 MONA Number: 6357.00 MONA Synonym: Semiothisa eremiata
Comments: One of 49 species in this genus recorded in North America (Ferguson, 2008), six of which occur in North Carolina. Digrammia eremiata, ordinata, and ocellinata were placed in the legume-feeding Eremiata Species Group by Ferguson.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984; as Semiothisa eremiata)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1948); Ferguson (2008)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Ferguson (2008)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized, grayish- to violet-brown Geometrid. The antemedian, median, and postmedian lines are dark and usually conspicuous; the postmedian is typically more continuous than in ocellinata and ordinata, where it is usually represented by a chain or series of separate dark spots (Ferguson, 2008). The ground color is usually darker beyond the postmedian line, unlike in ordinata and ocellinata, where it may be as pale as in the medial and basal areas (Forbes,1948).
Adult Structural Features: Genitalia are distinctive in both sexes (described and illustrated in Ferguson, 2008). Antennae are simple in both sexes. Males have swollen hind tibiae.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae are blue-green or reddish-brown, with a wide pale lateral stripe and a series of narrower pale stripes more dorsally. Pale intersegmental rings may also be prominent (see Ferguson, 2008, for a description and illustrations).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Found primarily in the Coastal Plain and at least marginally in the Piedmont and Mountains. Host plants occur more widely and the species may eventually be found over a larger portion of the Piedmont and Mountains.
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: Adults are present throughout the growing season, from early spring to late summer.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Almost all of our records come from Longleaf Pine communities in the Coastal Plain, where several species of Tephrosia occur (Astragalus as well). The majority come from dry sandhills habitats but there are also several from mesic-to-wet savannas and flatwoods. In the Piedmont, recent records also come from a Hillside Seepage Bog with a open canopy of Longleaf Pines. Habitat is not well documented from the one site where this species has been recorded in the Mountains.
Larval Host Plants: Stenophagous, recorded on Milkvetch (Astragalus spp.) and Goat's Rue (Tephrosia spp.) (Ferguson, 2008). J.B. Sullivan has reared larvae collected on Goat's Rue at Weymouth Woods State Natural Area in the Fall-line Sandhills. - View
Observation Methods: Comes well to lights, including 15 watt UV blacklights. Also frequently flushed during the day.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Dry-Xeric Glades and Barrens
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 [S3S4]
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 a specialist on fire-maintained habitats. In the Coastal Plain, it is associated exclusively with Longleaf Pine habitats, which have severely declined since the Colonial era due to the combined effects of over harvest of Longleaf Pines, conversion to agriculture or silviculture, and suppression of wildfires. Apart from several large tracts on lands managed through use of prescribed burning, these habitats are likely to continue to decline into the future. Although D. eremiata may also use monadnock and dry ridge habitats supporting populations of its host plants, these habitats also depend on fire to maintain their open character and are for the most part even more fire-suppressed than Longleaf Pine habitats in the Coastal Plain. While D. eremiata still occupies a fairly large range in the Coastal Plain, it should be considered only provisionally secure, being highly dependent on appropriate management for its continued survival.

 Photo Gallery for Digrammia eremiata - Three-lined Angle

Photos: 5

Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2023-05-21
New Hanover Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2023-05-21
New Hanover Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson, Brian Bockhahn on 2022-06-07
Moore Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Stephen Hall; Ed Corey on 2016-09-09
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2009-05-12
Moore Co.
Comment: Resting on Tephrosia