Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Geometridae Members:	Digrammia Members:	284 NC Records

Digrammia continuata (Walker, 1862) - Curve-lined Angle

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Geometroidea

Family:
Geometridae

Subfamily:
Ennominae

Tribe:
Macariini

P3 Number:
91a0789

MONA Number:
6362.00

MONA Synonym:
Semiothisa continuata

Other Common Name:
Curved-lined Angle

Comments: One of 49 species in this genus recorded in North America (Ferguson, 2008), six of which occur in North Carolina. Digrammia continuata was placed in the cedar-feeding Continuata Species Group by Ferguson, of which only continuata occurs in the East.

Identification

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

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

Technical Description, Adults: Forbes (1948); Ferguson (2008)

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Wagner et al. (2001); Ferguson (2008)

Adult Markings: A medium-sized Geometrid with distinctive thick black antemedian and postmedian lines that strongly contrast with pale gray ground color. Some specimens of D. gnophosaria also have conspicuously dark lines but the ground color is usually brown rather than gray and they also possess an ocellate reniform along the median line, which is usually faint or missing in continuata.

Adult Structural Features: Genitalia are distinctive among at least the eastern species of Digrammia; western species of the continuata group, however, may be difficult to separate (Ferguson, 2008).

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

Immatures and Development: Larvae are a bright pea- or lime-green with a broken pattern of pale stripes and dark markings that help them blend in with the foliage of cedars on which they feed (Wagner et al., 2001; Ferguson, 2008). The ventral surface usually have brown shadings that vary from reddish-brown to tan; these are usually missing in the larvae of Macaria multilineata which are otherwise similar in coloration and also feed on cedars (Ferguson, 2008).

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

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Our records come entirely from the Piedmont and Coastal Plain, although Red Cedar -- the host plant for this species -- occurs in the Mountains as well.

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 year in the Coastal Plain without any obvious peaks in activity. Records from the Piedmont appear to follow a similar pattern, but there are too few to be sure.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Occurs most abundantly on barrier islands in association with Southern Red Cedar. Records are sparser in the Piedmont, where it occurs in dry woodlands, glades, and forest edges in association with Eastern Red Cedar. Only a few records come from sites where Atlantic White Cedar is the only native cedar.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae are stenophagous, feeding on cedars (Wagner et al., 2001; Wagner, 2005; Ferguson, 2008). In North Carolina, most of our records come from sites with either Eastern Red Cedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana) or Southern Red Cedar (J. f. var. salicicola); only a very few records come from areas where only Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) occurs. Our only feeding record is from Eastern Red Cedar. - View

Observation Methods: Comes well to blacklights but rarely to bait.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Cedar Woodlands

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S4S5]

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

Comments: Although fairly specialized in terms of host plants, this species occurs in several kinds of cedar-containing habitats, including disturbed areas. It does not appear to be of conservation concern in North Carolina.

Photo Gallery for Digrammia continuata - Curve-lined Angle

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

	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-05 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-19 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-02 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2025-04-27 Pender Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2025-04-20 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-04-05 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, Larry Chen on 2025-04-02 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-03-28 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-03-13 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Randy Newman on 2024-10-28 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-10-26 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-10-04 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-15 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2024-09-08 Davidson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-08-31 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-08-14 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2024-08-13 Pamlico Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Lior S. Carlson, Dean Furbish on 2024-08-13 Pamlico Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-14 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-18 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-05-23 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-05-09 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-05-07 Pender Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-04-28 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-04-22 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-04-19 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2024-04-17 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-04-16 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-04-01 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-03-20 Orange Co. Comment: