Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFErebidae Members: Celiptera Members: 139 NC Records

Celiptera frustulum Guenée, 1852 - Black Bit Moth

Celiptera frustulumCeliptera frustulum
view caption 		Celiptera frustulumCeliptera frustulum
view caption
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Erebidae		Subfamily:
Erebinae		Tribe:
Euclidiini		P3 Number:
930940		 MONA Number:
8747.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
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.
Celiptera frustulumAlamance 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.
Immature 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: immatures.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Records from the Blue Ridge and Piedmont come from both forests and semi-open and disturbed sites where Black Locust and other legumes can be expected to occur. Records from the Coastal Plain come from sand ridges and wooded uplands where dwarf locusts are likely to be present. A few records, however, come from floodplains where larvae may be using other species of legumes.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae have been reared on Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) (Robinson et al., 2010; Wagner et al., 2011). In the Coastal Plain where Black Locust is sparsely present, other species of legumes are probably used, including Dwarf Locust (Robinia nana) and Bristly Locust (R. hispida). In North Carolina, we have feeding records for a tick-trefoil (Desmodium sp.), Naked Tick-trefoil (Hylodesmum nudiflorum), and Sericea Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Locust Groves and Thickets
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 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 Celiptera frustulum - Black Bit Moth

 75 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-22
Wilson Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-09-16
Watauga Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-09-16
Watauga Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-15
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Michael P Morales on 2025-08-15
Cumberland Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-07-29
Madison Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-26
Wilson Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2025-05-16
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-10-07
Madison Co.
Comment: Larva was feeding on Hylodesmum nudiflorum.		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-10-07
Madison Co.
Comment: Larva was feeding on Hylodesmum nudiflorum.
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-09-21
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: David George on 2024-09-09
Durham Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: David George on 2024-09-09
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2024-09-07
Alamance Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-09-06
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Michael P. Morales on 2024-09-05
Cumberland Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-05
Wilson Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-09-04
Orange Co.
Comment: Larva was feeding on a on Desmodium sp.
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-09-04
Orange Co.
Comment: Larva was feeding on a on Desmodium sp.		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-04
Mitchell Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George on 2024-07-31
Orange Co.
Comment: Larva was feeding on a Desmodium (adult reared). 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-22
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2024-05-27
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-05-14
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-14
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-05-12
Madison Co.
Comment:
Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-05-04
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Celiptera frustulum
Recorded by: Andrew W. Jones on 2024-04-11
Polk Co.
Comment: