Geometridae

Leptostales laevitaria Raspberry Wave

10 9 8 n=0 7 High Mt. 6 N 5 u 4 3 m 2 b 1 e 0 r 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 NC counties: 4 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec • o 10 • f 9 n=0 • = Sighting or Collection 8 • 7 Low Mt. High counts of: in NC since 2001 F 6 • l 5 2 - Onslow - 1999-04-09 = Not seen since 2001 4 • i 3 1 - Brunswick - 1995-04-27 g 2 Status Rank h 1 1 - Brunswick - 1994-07-19 0 NC US NC Global t 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 D Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec a 10 10 9 9 t 8 n=0 8 n=12 e 7 Pd 7 CP s 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 15 5 25 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Three periods to each month: 1-10 / 11-20 / 21-31 FAMILY: Geometridae SUBFAMILY: TRIBE: TAXONOMIC_COMMENTS: One of eight species in this genus that occur in North America, of which three have been recorded in North Carolina

FIELD GUIDE DESCRIPTIONS: ONLINE PHOTOS: TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION, ADULTS: TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION, IMMATURE STAGES:

ID COMMENTS: A small, narrow-winged Geometrid, with alternating longitudinal bands of pink and yellow on both pairs of wings, the pink areas predominating. Other small pink-and-yellow have bands that are oriented more transversely across the wings.

DISTRIBUTION: Appears to be limited in North Carolina to the southern half of the Outer Coastal Plain

FLIGHT COMMENT: Possibly bivoltine in North Carolina, with records in April and then later from July to September

HABITAT: Considered a habitat generalist in northern Florida by Kons and Borth (2006). All of our records, however, come from Longleaf Pine habitats, primarily wet-to-mesic savannas and flatwoods.

FOOD: Host plants are unknown (Heppner, 2003)

OBSERVATION_METHODS: Comes to blacklights to some extent but has not been collected in significant numbers at any site in North Carolina

NATURAL HERITAGE PROGRAM RANKS: G4 S2S3

STATE PROTECTION: Listed as Significantly Rare by the Natural Heritage Program. That designation, however, does not confer any legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands.

COMMENTS: This species is reported to be common in Florida (Kimball, 1965), where it utilizes a fairly wide range of habitats (Kons and Borth, 2006). At its northern range limit in North Carolina, however, we have few records for this species, all from just a few sites containing high quality Longleaf Pine savannas or flatwoods. Based on current data, this species appears to be of conservation concern at least at the state level. More information needs to be obtained on its larval host plants, however, which should provide a clearer understanding of both its habitat requirements and its conservation status.

March 2021 The Moths of North Carolina - Early Draft 1