Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFErebidae Members: Caenurgina Members: 56 NC Records

Caenurgina crassiuscula (Haworth, 1809) - Clover Looper Moth

Caenurgina crassiusculaCaenurgina crassiusculaCaenurgina crassiusculaCaenurgina crassiuscula
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Erebidae		Subfamily:
Erebinae		Tribe:
Euclidiini		P3 Number:
930923		 MONA Number:
8738.00		 Other Common Name:
The Double-barred
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1954)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Wagner et al. (2011)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: This species and males of Caenurgina erechtea are very similar in appearance and males may need to be dissected in order to definitely identify them. Both sexes of crassiuscula and males of erechtea have two dark bars crossing the forewing. In crassiuscula, both bars are relatively diffuse and usually only partly outlined; the upper bar, when complete, forms a wide loop that either joins or nearly touches the lower bar near the inner margin (Forbes, 1954). In males of erechtea, the lower portions of the bars are more completely edged and the upper bar is usually well separated from the lower bar and may also be separated from the inner margin by the pale edging. The ground color in crassiuscula is usually brown but grayer in erectea (Forbes, 1954). Sexes are similar in this species, although the bars in the females may be only vaguely indicated.
Wingspan: 30 mm, spring brood; 40 mm, summer brood (Forbes, 1954)
Adult Structural Features: Males can be distinguished from C. erechtea by their much weaker spine at the terminus of the costa and by their two short spines rather than a single long and forked spine at the sacculus (see Forbes, 1954, for details and illustrations).
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable only through rearing to adulthood.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Caenurgina crassiusculaAlamance 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: Wagner et al. (2011) list pastures, fields, and roadsides as primary habitat. Our records also include woodlands but probably mainly along edges or herbaceous openings.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on both grasses and legumes but appear to prefer grasses (Wagner et al, 2011). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Successional Fields and Forblands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S4]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Caenurgina crassiuscula - Clover Looper Moth

Photos: 16
Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin, Marilyn Westphal and Nora Murdock on 2025-10-18
Henderson Co.
Comment: 		Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-09-24
Watauga Co.
Comment:
Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: David George, Kevin Bischof, Rich Teper, Patrick Coin on 2025-08-15
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Marilyn Westphal. on 2025-08-09
Henderson Co.
Comment:
Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-09-20
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2023-09-17
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Tony McBride on 2023-07-23
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: tom ward on 2022-07-16
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-31
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2021-07-25
Graham Co.
Comment:
Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-07-29
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2020-07-24
Madison Co.
Comment:
Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Vin Stanton on 2018-08-08
Haywood Co.
Comment: 		Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2018-07-09
Graham Co.
Comment:
Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2018-03-30
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Caenurgina crassiuscula
Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2014-08-17
Cabarrus Co.
Comment: