Moths of North Carolina

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View PDF	Erebidae Members:	Rivula Members:	234 NC Records

Rivula propinqualis Guenée, 1854 - Spotted Grass Moth

Taxonomy

Superfamily:
Noctuoidea

Family:
Erebidae

Subfamily:
Rivulinae

P3 Number:
930592

MONA Number:
8404.00

Comments: One of three species in this genus that occur in North America north of Mexico (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), two of which have been recorded in North Carolina

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: Most of our records come from wetlands, including floodplain forests, swamps, bogs, seeps, and shorelines, all where wetland graminoids are prominent features of the herb layer. A few records come from high elevation grasslands in the mountains and wet pastures in the Piedmont.

Larval Host Plants: Larvae feed on grasses (Wagner et al., 2011). In North Carolina, Tracy Feldman has reared a larva from Awl-fruit Sedge (Carex stipata). - View

Wikipedia

See also Habitat Account for General Sedge, Grass, and Rush Mires

Status in North Carolina

Natural Heritage Program Status:

Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SNR [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 Rivula propinqualis - Spotted Grass Moth

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

	Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2025-08-23 Transylvania Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Dean Furbish on 2025-08-16 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jim Petranka, Becky Elkin and Marilyn Westphal. on 2025-08-09 Henderson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Marilyn Westphal on 2025-08-06 Henderson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-08-04 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-31 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Simpson Eason on 2025-07-12 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-07-04 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, David Bradley, Becky Watkins, David Cheng, Michelle Lotker, Tracy Feldman, et al. on 2025-06-28 Durham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik, David George, Larry Chen, Sarah Toner, Joye Zhou on 2025-06-20 Richmond Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-06 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-05-22 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2025-04-20 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-21 Buncombe Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-20 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-09-07 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: John Petranka on 2024-08-22 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-08-10 Mitchell Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-08-06 Graham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-24 Orange Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-07-07 Buncombe Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George on 2024-07-04 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-26 Orange Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-22 Chatham Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Lior S. Carlson, Dean Furbish on 2024-06-18 Lincoln Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2024-06-14 Scotland Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-05-24 Wilson Co. Comment:		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-05-24 Wilson Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2024-05-13 Chatham Co. Comment:		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik on 2024-04-29 Chatham Co. Comment: