Moths of North Carolina
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131 NC Records

Idaea violacearia (Walker, 1861) - Violaceous Wave

Idaea violaceariaIdaea violaceariaIdaea violacearia
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: SterrhinaeTribe: SterrhiniP3 Number: 91a0073 MONA Number: 7120.00
Comments: One of thirty species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Pohl et al., 2016). Thirteen have been recorded in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: The frons is black and contrasting but the rest of the head, body, and the ground color of the forewings are ash gray (Forbes, 1948). The antemedian and postmedian lines are fine and black, with the postmedian regularly scalloped. The subterminal line is pale and faint. In our specimens, an obscure dark discal dot may be present, along with a series of terminal bars or dots. Our other members of this genus either have a whitish or a buff, brown, or yellowish ground color. Several species have heavier dark markings that are not present in violacearia (see key given in Forbes, 1948).
Wingspan: 20 mm (Forbes, 1948)
Adult Structural Features: "The hind legs are very weak" (Forbes, 1948)
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)

Click on graph to enlarge
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Nearly all of our records come from Longleaf Pine-dominated savannas, flatwoods, and sand hills. One historic record exists for the Piedmont and our few Mountain records come from a cedar barren, lakeshore, and cove forests.
Larval Host Plants: Host plants are apparently unknown - View
Wikipedia
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:

 Photo Gallery for Idaea violacearia - Violaceous Wave

Photos: 5

Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper on 2023-05-21
New Hanover Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and John Petranka on 2023-05-18
Moore Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Bo Sullivan on 2023-05-17
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2022-05-29
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2022-05-25
Chatham Co.
Comment: