Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFNoctuidae Members: Ponometia Members: 122 NC Records

Ponometia semiflava (Guenée, 1852) - Half-yellow Moth

Ponometia semiflavaPonometia semiflavaPonometia semiflavaPonometia semiflava
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea		 Family:
Noctuidae		Subfamily:
Acontiinae		Tribe:
Acontiini		P3 Number:
931308		 MONA Number:
9085.00		 Other Common Names:
The Half-yellow, Half-yellow Bird-dopping Moth
Comments: One of 34 species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), six of which have been recorded in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984; as Tarachidia semiflava)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.
Ponometia semiflavaAlamance 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: The majority of our records come from dune grasslands on the barrier islands, with another large portion from dry Pine-Scrub Oak Sandhills. Our few Piedmont records come from lake shores, power lines, woodlands, and other dry, open habitats.
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous on composite species, with records from North Carolina for Maryland Goldenaster (Chrysopis mariana) and Camphorweed (Heterotheca subaxillaris) (Wagner et al., 2011). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Dry-Xeric Glades and Barrens
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4 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 Ponometia semiflava - Half-yellow Moth

 40 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-08-22
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Rob Van Epps, Kevin Metcalf on 2025-07-20
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: David George, Patrick Coin on 2025-06-29
Moore Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2025-06-29
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-06-16
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-05-24
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2025-05-24
Richmond Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2025-05-02
Pender Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2025-05-01
Pender Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2025-05-01
Pender Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-04-29
Pender Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2025-04-28
Pender Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2025-04-28
Pender Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2025-04-28
Pender Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-04-22
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, Steve Hall, David George on 2025-04-20
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-08-28
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-08-13
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-05-11
Pender Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-05-09
Pender Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-05-05
Pender Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Bo Sullivan on 2023-05-17
Richmond Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-05-01
Pender Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2023-04-20
Carteret Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: J.B. Sullivan on 2022-08-29
Moore Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Steve Hall and Bo Sullivan on 2022-08-28
Moore Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-06-19
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-05-30
Moore Co.
Comment:
Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-05-18
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Ponometia semiflava
Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2022-05-03
Pender Co.
Comment: