Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Erebidae Members:	Anticarsia Members:	443 NC Records

Anticarsia gemmatalis Hübner, 1818 - Velvetbean Caterpillar Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Erebidae

Subfamily:
Eulepidotinae

Tribe:
Panopodini

P3 Number:
931077

MONA Number:
8574.00

Other Common Name:
Velvet Bean Moth

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.


Flight Dates: High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft. Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft. Piedmont (Pd) Coastal Plain (CP) Click on graph to enlarge

Habitats and Life History

Habitats: Found in open habitats across the state but most of our records probably represent migrants.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae are polyphagous on legumes, including crop or introduced species such as Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Kudzu (Pueraria montana), Soybean (Glycine max), and Velvet Bean (Mucuna pruriens). Native legumes that are used include Hairypod Cowpea (Vigna luteola), snoutbeans (Rhynchosia), and Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) (Wagner et al., 2011). We do not have any feeding records in North Carolina. - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Fields, Gardens, and Ruderal Habitats

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [SNA]

State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

Comments: This species appears to be primarily a migrant in our area, showing up in late summer and fall.

Photo Gallery for Anticarsia gemmatalis - Velvetbean Caterpillar Moth

204 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

	Recorded by: Tony McBride, Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-10-28 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Tony McBride, Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-10-28 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Tony McBride, Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2025-10-27 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-10-23 Pender Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-23 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-10-22 Pender Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-10-19 Pender Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Marilyn Westphal on 2025-10-18 Henderson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-10-18 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-10-14 Watauga Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-10-14 Watauga Co. Comment:		Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-10-10 Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Greg Walker on 2025-10-09 Forsyth Co. Comment:		Recorded by: G. Newman on 2025-10-08 Onslow Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-10-03 Watauga Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Merrill Lynch on 2025-10-03 Watauga Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2025-09-28 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-23 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-21 Brunswick Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-09-20 Brunswick Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2025-08-27 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-11-18 Alleghany Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: R. Newman on 2024-11-18 Carteret Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2024-11-18 Durham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-11-18 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2024-11-18 Wake Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-11-07 Madison Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-11-06 Madison Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-11-05 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-11-05 Chatham Co. Comment: