Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Geometridae Members:	Nemoria Members:	189 NC Records

Nemoria saturiba Ferguson, 1969 - Braided Emerald

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Geometroidea

Family:
Geometridae

Subfamily:
Geometrinae

Tribe:
Nemoriini

P3 Number:
91a0621

MONA Number:
7034.00

Other Common Names:
Red-patched Emerald, Red-spotted Emerald

Comments: One of 35 species in this genus that occur in North America (Ferguson, 1985), nine of which have been recorded in North Carolina. Ferguson (1969) included saturiba within the Lixaria Species Group (Group V), which comprises only lixaria and saturiba.

Identification

Field Guide Descriptions:

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

Technical Description, Adults: Ferguson (1969); Ferguson (1985)

Technical Description, Immature Stages: Ferguson (1985); Wagner et al. (2001)

Adult Markings: A medium-sized Emerald, with dark to medium green ground color, wavy to fairly straight lines, and white fringes that are strongly checkered with red. The overall size and pattern are very similar to the closely related N. lixaria but saturiba is easily distinguished by its possession of strong purplish-brown (sometimes red) blotches on the abdomen in place of the white spots found in the other species (small white spots may occur in the center of the blotches in some individuals.

Forewing Length: 10-12 mm, males; 13-14 mm, females (Ferguson, 1985)

Adult Structural Features: The fore-tibieae are marked with solid red and lack the white cross-line found in lixaria and bistriaria (Ferguson, 1985). Genitalia of both the males and females have diagnostic features (described and illustred by Ferguson, 1985). The uncus of the male is spatulate but lacks the scoop-shape present in lixaria; the valves also have a long, scerlotized costal portion and a membranous lower portion that are also distinctive. Females possess a very large, somewhat bilobed, sclerite located on the ventral side of segment 7.

Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from photos showing hindwings, abdomen, or other specialized views [e.g., frons, palps, antennae, undersides].

Immatures and Development: Larvae are distinctively yellow-green on segments A1, A3, and A5 and red-brown on the remaining segments (Wagner et al., 2001). The integument is smooth rather than pilose, as typical of other Nemoria and the dorsolateral processes are shorter and more obtuse than in other species (Ferguson, 1985; Wagner et al., 2001)

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

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution: Apart from the specimen recorded at Tryon at the edge of the Blue Ridge, our records come from the eastern Piedmont and Coastal Plain.

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: In the Coastal Plain, adults fly nearly continuously during the growing season, although with possibly three peaks in activity. Records from the Piedmont also extend over most of the growing season but show evidence of three or four discrete flights.

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: A variety of forested or woodland habitats are used by this species, ranging from Maritime and Coastal Fringe Evergreen Forests in the tidewater area; riverine and non-riverine swamp forests; lake shorelines; dry-to-xeric sandhills; and mesic hardwood slopes. Sweetgum can be found in most of these habitats, although it is scarce to absent in the most xeric habitats. It also widespread over more of the state than is occupied by N. saturiba, making any strong correlation between the two species difficult to discern. Oaks and Red Maples -- both used by N. lixaria -- seem equally likely to be used as host plants, although no rearing studies appear to have been conducted to determine how well captive larvae feed upon those species.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae have apparently not been observed in the wild, but were reared in captivity by Ferguson (1969) fed on Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua). - View

Observation Methods: Adults come well to blacklights, but we have no records from bait or from flowers.

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for Sweetgum Groves and Forests

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 SNR [S4S5]

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

Comments: Although the host plants used by this species still need to be determined in the wild, saturiba uses a wide variety of habitats, some of them still widespread, and has a large enough range in the eastern portion of the state to seem fairly secure in North Carolina.

Photo Gallery for Nemoria saturiba - Braided Emerald

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

	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-31 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-05-26 Moore Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2025-04-05 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-04-02 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2025-03-28 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2024-09-18 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-03 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-26 Rowan Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-16 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George on 2024-07-04 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-22 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-15 Scotland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-01 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-05-20 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-05-01 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: John Petranka and Chuck Smith on 2024-04-23 Gates Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-04-13 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-04-02 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-04-01 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, David George on 2024-03-31 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-03-30 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-03-15 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2024-03-07 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-03-05 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-02-26 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Denise Brown & Michael P. Morales on 2024-02-12 Cumberland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-09-26 Wake Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2023-09-21 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2023-09-11 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2023-09-10 Wilson Co. Comment: