Moths of North Carolina
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19 NC Records

Hydriomena divisaria (Walker, 1860) - Black-dashed Hydriomena Moth

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Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: LarentiinaeTribe: HydriomeniniP3 Number: 91a0482 MONA Number: 7235.00
Comments: One of 56 species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (McDunnough, 1954, covered 55 and Rindge added Hydriomena peratica in 1956). Most are boreal or are found in the West, with only five recorded in North Carolina.
Species Status: McDunnough placed divisaria in his Group I, which also includes the other four species found in our state. He further described three subspecies for divisaria, all found in New England but none recorded from the Southern Appalachians. Since we have specimens matching the phenotypes of both frigidata -- some very dark or with a reddish suffusion -- and the paler gray nominate form, we do not distinguish between the two. One specimen originally identified as H. frigidata from the Raleigh area by Brimley (1938) is probably the same as a specimen in the US National Museum (collected by Sherman) that McDunnough (1951) was unable to resolve, but thought might belong to either pluviata or transfigurata. In any case, it does not appear to represent H. divisaria frigidata as defined by McDunnough in 1954.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A medium-sized Wave. The ground color of the typical form (subspecies divisaria of McDunnough, 1954) is a dull, light gray
Wingspan: 25-30 mm (Forbes, 1948)
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable only by close inspection of structural features or by DNA analysis.
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: Our records come primarily from high elevation forests but with a few from cove forests at lower elevations
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on fir, eastern hemlock, eastern larch, spruces, and doubtfully pines (Maier et al., 2011) - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Montane Cool Mesic Conifer Forests
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status: W3
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GNR S2S3
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments: