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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Geometrid and Swallowtail Moths (Geometroidea) » Geometrid Moths (Geometridae) » Larentiinae » Xanthorhoini » Orthonama » The Gem - Hodges#7414 (Orthonama obstipata)

Species Orthonama obstipata - The Gem - Hodges#7414

Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

2312 Orthonama obstipata - The Gem 7414 - Orthonama obstipata

2011 Sandy Hook Bioblitz Moth #13 - Orthonama obstipata - male

The Gem Hodges # 7414 - Orthonama obstipata - female

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 Larentiinae

Tribe Xanthorhoini

Genus Orthonama

Species obstipata (The Gem - Hodges#7414)

Hodges Number

7414

Other Common Names

Gem Moth

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Orthonama obstipata (Fabricius, 1794)

Heppner (2003) listed many of synonyms (due to world-wide range). (1)

Numbers

There are two species of the genus Orthonama in America north of Mexico. (2), (3)

Size

Wingspan 15-22 mm.

Identification

Adult is sexually dimorphic:

Female forewing is dark brown/maroon with a small white ring near the middle of the disc;

Male forewing is light brown/yellowish with a black spot in place of the female's white ring;

Both sexes have oblique blackish dash at apex of forewing (which distinguishes The Gem from the Bent-line Carpet)

female male

Range

Orthonama obstipata occurs in most of North America, and is found worldwide. Populations die out in colder temperate areas over the winter, but these areas are recolonized frequently from warmer areas (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), (12)

Season

This species flies practically throughout the year on Block Island, RI, and is common on wing throughout the warm months.(13)

Food

The larvae feed on a variety of herbaceous plants, such as Chrysanthemum, Dock (Rumex), Knotweed (Polygonum), Packera aurea (L.) A. Love & D. Love (golden ragwort).

Remarks

A strong flier, this species is known to cross long distances of open sea.

See Also

Bent-line Carpet (Costaconvexa centrostrigaria) lacks an oblique blackish dash at apex of forewing.

Print References

Covell, C., 2005. Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America. Virginia Museum of Natural History. p. 385, plate 49. (4)

Powell, J.A. & P.A. Opler, 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press, plate 33, fig. 4; p. 227. (14)

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group (3)

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA) (15)

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (16)

Larry Lines' Moths of Maryland

live adult images of males (Lynn Scott, Ontario)

Works Cited

1.	Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas: Lepidoptera of Florida J.B. Heppner. 2003. Florida Department of Agriculture 17(1): 1-670.

2.	Check list of the Lepidoptera of America north of Mexico. Hodges, et al. (editors). 1983. E. W. Classey, London. 284 pp.

3.	North American Moth Photographers Group

4.	Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America Charles V. Covell, Jr. 2005.

5.	Checklist of the Lepidoptera of Florida

6.	Moths of Stengl "Lost Pines" Biological Research Station (University of Texas, Austin)

7.	Oklahoma moth species list by county (PDF)

8.	Moths of Brackenridge Field Laboratory University of Texas at Austin

9.	Moths of Dallas County, Texas

10.	Essig Museum of Entomology, California Moth Species List

11.	Assessment of species diversity in the Atlantic Maritime Ecozone McAlpine D.F., Smith I.M. (eds.). 2010. Canadian Science Publishing (NRC Research Press). 785 pp.

12.	Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America David Beadle and Seabrooke Leckie. 2012. Houghton Mifflin.

13.	Block Island Moths

14.	Moths of Western North America Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.

15.	Butterflies of North America

16.	BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 9 January, 2005 - 1:06pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Maury Heiman, Nick Block, Randy Hardy, Blocky
Last updated 30 September, 2022 - 12:19am

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