Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« »
View PDFGeometridae Members:
Leptostales Members:
13 NC Records

Leptostales laevitaria (Geyer, 1837) - Raspberry Wave Moth

No image for this species.
Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: SterrhinaeTribe: ScopuliniP3 Number: 91a0088 MONA Number: 7177.00
Comments: One of eight species in this genus that occur in North America, of which three have been recorded in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A small, narrow-winged Geometrid, with alternating longitudinal bands of pink and yellow on both pairs of wings, the pink areas predominating. Other small pink-and-yellow moths have bands that are oriented more transversely across the wings.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: Larvae do not appear to have been described
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Appears to be limited in North Carolina to the southern half of the Outer 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: Possibly bivoltine in North Carolina, with records in April and then later from July to September
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Considered a habitat generalist in northern Florida by Kons and Borth (2006). All of our records, however, come from Longleaf Pine habitats, primarily wet-to-mesic savannas and flatwoods.
Larval Host Plants: Host plants are unknown (Heppner, 2003) - View
Observation Methods: Comes to blacklights to some extent but has not been collected in significant numbers at any site in North Carolina
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Wet, Sandy, Fire-maintained Herblands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: SR
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 S1S2
State Protection: Listed as Significantly Rare by the Natural Heritage Program. That designation, however, does not confer any legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: This species is reported to be common in Florida (Kimball, 1965), where it utilizes a fairly wide range of habitats (Kons and Borth, 2006). At its northern range limit in North Carolina, however, we have few records for this species, all from just a few sites containing high quality Longleaf Pine savannas or flatwoods. Based on current data, this species appears to be of conservation concern at least at the state level. More information needs to be obtained on its larval host plants, however, which should provide a clearer understanding of both its habitat requirements and its conservation status.