Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGeometridae Members: Idaea Members: 113 NC Records

Idaea obfusaria (Walker, 1861) - Rippled Wave

Idaea obfusariaIdaea obfusariaIdaea obfusaria
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Geometroidea		 Family:
Geometridae		Subfamily:
Sterrhinae		Tribe:
Sterrhini		P3 Number:
91a0076		 MONA Number:
7123.00
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: Covell (1984)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Structural photos
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.
Idaea obfusariaAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Our records come from both open, herb-dominated habitats, including savannas, flatwoods, sandridges, and bogs, and hardwood forests, including bottomlands, swamp forests, and dry ridges.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous, feeding on dead and live plant tissues of many trees, shrubs, and forbs (Wagner et al., 2001). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Fields
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4G5 SNR [S4S5]
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 obfusaria - Rippled Wave

 36 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: David George, David Bradley, Becky Watkins, David Cheng, Michelle Lotker, Tracy Feldman, et al. on 2025-06-28
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-06-22
Moore Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Allison Garton on 2025-06-19
Moore Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-06
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Stephen Dunn on 2024-06-29
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-22
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-22
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2024-06-18
Lincoln Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: David George, Steve Hall, Patrick Coin, Mark Basinger on 2024-06-16
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-15
Scotland Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-14
Scotland Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-13
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-31
Swain Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-30
Swain Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-19
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: John Petranka on 2023-07-10
Person Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-06-18
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-06-18
Orange Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-07-03
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2022-06-21
Caswell Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Darryl Willis on 2022-06-12
Cabarrus Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Julie Tuttle on 2021-07-11
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-11
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Richard Teper on 2021-07-04
Orange Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-02
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2020-07-10
Orange Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-07-07
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Mark Shields on 2020-06-18
Onslow Co.
Comment:
Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-29
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Idaea obfusariaRecorded by: Mark Shields on 2019-06-04
Onslow Co.
Comment: