Species Cerma cerintha - Tufted Bird Dropping Moth - Hodges#9062

9062

Tufted Bird Lime Moth

Cerma cerintha (Treitschke, 1826)

Acontia cerintha Treitschke, 1826

Synonym

Chamyris obscura Dyar, 1923;

common

Wingspan 28-33 mm

Coloration resembles a bird dropping when at rest (mostly white in the middle, and dark at both ends). FW white with a mixture of black, gray, reddish-brown, and olive-green. Orbicular spot outlined black. Reniform spot partially filled with light gray or bluish-gray and outlined black. HW white with gray discal spot and gray terminal line. Abdomen with dark dorsal tufts

eastern North America (New Brunswick and Maine to Florida, west to Mississippi and Arkansas, north to Manitoba)

woodlands, wood edges, shrubby areas

adults fly from May to August in the south; mostly June and July in the north

larvae feed on leaves of plants in the rose family (Rosaceae) such as apple, cherry, hawthorn, peach, pear, plum, rose

one generation per year

Olive-shaded Bird Dropping Moth (Ponometia candefacta)

Covell, p. 148, plate 30 #8 (1)

Moth Photographers Group (2)

The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (3)

Moths of North Dakota

Larry Line, Maryland live adult images, common name reference [Tufted Bird Dropping Moth], food plants

Canadian Biodiversity pinned adult image