The Gem has a wingspan of approximately .75 inch. The adults are sexually dimorphic. The forewing of the female is maroon with a small white ring around a black dot. The male’s forewing is light yellowish-brown with a black spot in place of the female’s white ring. Both sexes have an oblique black dash at the apex of the forewing. The Bent-line Carpet Moth is very similar to the male Gem, but lacks the black dash on the forewing. This moth was identified by the volunteer experts at the BugGuide website.
This moth is common in our area. The individuals shown here were photographed in late April and late September at Fontenelle Forest. The adults fly from April to early November and are attracted to artificial light.
The larvae feed on a variety of herbaceous plants such as dock, chrysanthemum, knotweed and ragwort. They do not survive winters in northern states, but recolonize in the north from the southern states the next spring and summer.
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