Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
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Idaea Members:
95 NC Records

Idaea obfusaria (Walker, 1861) - Rippled Wave Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: SterrhinaeTribe: SterrhiniP3 Number: 910532.00 MONA Number: 7123.00
Comments: One of thirty species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Pohl et al., 2016). Thirteen have been recorded in North Carolina.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF                                                                                 
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: Our records come from both open, herb-dominated habitats, including savannas, flatwoods, sandridges, and bogs, and hardwood forests, including bottomlands, swamp forests, and dry ridges.
Larval Host Plants: Polyphagous, feeding on dead and live plant tissues of many trees, shrubs, and forbs (Wagner et al., 2001)
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Fields
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G4G5 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 Idaea obfusaria - Rippled Wave Moth

Photos: 18

Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-07-03
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2022-06-21
Caswell Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2022-06-12
Cabarrus Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Julie Tuttle on 2021-07-11
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-11
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Richard Teper on 2021-07-04
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-02
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2020-07-10
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2020-07-07
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2020-06-18
Onslow Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2019-06-29
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Mark Shields on 2019-06-04
Onslow Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-07-15
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-07-06
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2018-06-24
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Darryl Willis on 2016-06-16
Cabarrus Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Paul Scharf on 2010-07-01
Warren Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: M.J. Westfall Jr. on 1942-07-13
Transylvania Co.
Comment: This specimen was originally determined by W.T. Forbes as Scopula quadrilinearia and listed for North Carolina under that name by Wray (1967); no other record appears to exist for that species in North Carolina and this specimen -- a female -- has only one pair of spurs on the hind tibiae and has two accessory cells on the forewing, both of which characters disqualify it as a Scopula.