HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp

Clickable Guide

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

National Moth Week was July 23-31, 2022! See moth submissions.

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29

Photos of insects and people from the 2015 gathering in Wisconsin, July 10-12

Previous events

TaxonomyBrowse

Info

ImagesLinksBooksData

Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Geometrid and Swallowtail Moths (Geometroidea) » Geometrid Moths (Geometridae) » Emeralds (Geometrinae) » Hemitheini » Mesothea

Genus Mesothea

Classification · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Internet References

Moth, Mesothea incertata #7087 - Mesothea incertata

Mesothea incertata? - Mesothea incertata - male

Emerald Moth - possible Mesothea incertata - Mesothea incertata

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Geometroidea (Geometrid and Swallowtail Moths)

Family Geometridae (Geometrid Moths)

Subfamily Geometrinae (Emeralds)

Tribe Hemitheini

Genus Mesothea

Numbers

1 species in North America (nearctica.com)

Size

wingspan to 20 mm

Identification

Adult: wings uniformly yellowish-green to dusky green; PM line slightly wavy, indistinct (sometimes absent), often the only visible marking

Larva: green with brown dorsal stripe; body slender and without noticeable bumps or protrusions; head and first thoracic segment with pair of pointed horns

Range

Alaska to Newfoundland, south to North Carolina, west to California

Habitat

dry open mixedwood and pine forest, peat bogs, grasslands

Season

adults fly during the day in May and June

Food

larvae feed mainly on leaves of willow and Sweet Gale (Myrica gale), but also on alder, birch, Buffaloberry (Sherpherdia canadensis), gooseberry, New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus), pine, and members of the rose family (Rosaceae)

associated with Labrador Tea (Ledum groenlandicum) and Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) in Alberta

Life Cycle

one generation per year; overwinters as a pupa

See Also

most similar to Hethemia pistasciaria but lacks the angular hindwings of that species (compare images of both species)

Internet References

live adult images by Anthony Thomas (Moth Photographers Group)

pinned adult image plus common name references, habitat, flight season, description, biology, distribution (G.G. Anweiler, U. of Alberta)

pinned adult image (Insects of Quebec)

distribution, habitat, food plants; PDF doc (J.D. Lafontaine and D.M. Wood, Butterflies and Moths of the Yukon)

food plants and flight season; PDF doc (Macrolepidoptera of Mont Saint-Hilaire Region, McGill U., Quebec)

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 14 January, 2006 - 3:37am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2023 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version