Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFGeometridae Members:
Orthonama Members:
519 NC Records

Orthonama obstipata (Fabricius, 1794) - Gem Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Geometroidea Family: GeometridaeSubfamily: LarentiinaeTribe: XanthorhoiniP3 Number: 910258.00 MONA Number: 7414.00
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF                                                                                 
Adult Markings: A small Wave that is strongly sexually dimorphic. Females are distinctively reddish-brown and have a conspicuous round white discal spot with a black center. Males are lighter brown with a blackish median area; the discal spot is dark. Female Costaconvexa centrostrigaria are similar to male obstipata in possessing a blacking median band, but have contrasting bands of chocolate brown between the black median area and the whitish antemedian and postmedian lines, whereas these areas are paler brown in obstipata, not contrasting with the ground color (Forbes, 1948). The apex is also marked with a dark wedge in centrostrigaria but is pale in obstipata and bounded below by a dark dash or shade. Additionally, the postmedian in obstipata is usually incurved where it meets the costa but is either slightly excurved or straight in centrostrigaria.
Wingspan: 15-18 mm
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 essentially the entire spectrum of open and forested habitats in the state.
Larval Host Plants: Forbes (1948) lists Polygonum and other forbs as host plants. Covell (1984) adds Chrysanthemum, Dock (Rumex), Elm, Mayweed (Matricaria species), Ragworts (Senecio species).
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Fields
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 S5
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.
Comments:

 Photo Gallery for Orthonama obstipata - Gem Moth

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

Recorded by: John Petranka on 2023-03-16
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2023-03-06
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-03-06
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Becky Watkins on 2023-03-04
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-02-28
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Ken Kneidel on 2023-02-23
Mecklenburg Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2023-02-21
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-02-20
Wake Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Dean Furbish and Joy Wiggins on 2023-01-18
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-01-05
Wake Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-01-03
Wake Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2022-12-12
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: R. Newman on 2022-11-28
Carteret Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2022-11-10
Transylvania Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: John Petranka on 2022-09-14
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-08-21
Madison Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-07-14
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-07-14
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George on 2022-07-09
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-07-04
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-06-18
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson, Stephen Dunn on 2022-06-18
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2022-06-14
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson, Stephen Dunn on 2022-06-04
Orange Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-06-01
Guilford Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Gary Maness on 2022-05-24
Guilford Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, L. M. Carlson on 2022-05-15
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, L.M. Carlson, Becky Watkins on 2022-05-02
Durham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Morgan Freese on 2022-04-07
New Hanover Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: John Petranka on 2022-03-15
Orange Co.
Comment: