Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
« Home »
View PDFNoctuidae Members: Cerma Members: 128 NC Records

Cerma cerintha (Treitschke, 1826) - Tufted Bird-dropping Moth

Cerma cerinthaCerma cerinthaCerma cerinthaCerma cerintha
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Acronictinae		P3 Number:
931419.52		 MONA Number:
9062.00		 Other Common Name:
Cherry Agate
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.
Cerma cerinthaAlamance 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: Wagner et al. (2011) list barrens, fields, sandy openings, and woodland edges as habitats used by this species. Our records come mainly from cove forests and high elevation hardwoods in the mountains, and from shorelines and semi-natural habitats in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed primarily on Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) and hawthorn (Crataegus), but also feed on other members of the Rosaceae, including apple (Malus), Cotoneaster, and plum (Prunus) (Wagner et al., 2011). In North Carolina, larvae have been found feeding on Prunus and chokeberry (Aronia). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Rosaceous Thickets
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [S3S4]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Cerma cerintha - Tufted Bird-dropping Moth

 78 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-03
Wilson Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-03
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-08-13
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-08-05
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-18
Wilson Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-07-18
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: John Petranka on 2024-07-11
Watauga Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-07-07
Madison Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-07-02
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Stephen Dunn on 2024-06-29
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-28
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: John Petranka on 2024-06-20
Watauga Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-06-07
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-05-20
Wilson Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-31
Swain Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Rich Teper, Becky Watkins on 2023-07-30
Swain Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2023-07-21
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: John Petranka on 2023-07-07
Orange Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: K. Bischof on 2023-07-04
Transylvania Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-06-24
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Emily Stanley on 2023-06-19
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: John Petranka on 2023-06-03
Orange Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 2022-07-26
Moore Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 2022-07-26
Moore Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Richard Teper on 2022-06-29
Avery Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: tom ward on 2022-06-28
Buncombe Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Simpson Eason on 2022-06-22
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-06-20
Madison Co.
Comment:
Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-06-14
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Cerma cerinthaRecorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-06-08
Guilford Co.
Comment: