Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGeometridae Members:
Iridopsis Members:
13 NC Records

Iridopsis ephyraria (Walker, 1860) - Pale-winged Gray Moth

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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: EnnominaeTribe: BoarmiiniP3 Number: 91a0983 MONA Number: 6583.00
Comments: One of 20 species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico, seven of which have been recorded in North Carolina. In Rindge's 1966 revision of this group, 18 were placed in Anacamptodes, which he recognized as possibly representing the same genus as Iridopsis, and two in Iridopsis itself.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984; as Anacamptodes ephyraria); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This is a relatively small member of this genus. The ground color is pale gray rather than the white of I. defectaria (Forbes, 1948) and has little or no brown shading. The abdomen is concolorous rather than possessing the black and white bands found on the basal segments of I. humaria (Forbes, 1948).
Wingspan: 28 mm (Forbes, 1948)
Forewing Length: 10-15 mm, males; 11-15 mm, females (Rindge, 1966)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
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)

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Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Wagner et al. (2001) list forests and woodlands as habitat. Our records come primarily from maritime forests and peatlands; two records also come from cove forests in the mountains.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on a wide range of hardwood trees and shrubs and also hemlock, fir, and other conifers (Wagner et al., 2001) - View
Wikipedia
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 S2S4
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
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