Black-bordered Lemon Moth

Marimatha nigrofimbria · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Noctuidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Black-bordered Lemon Moth
Photo: Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren, CC BY

It lives east of the Rocky Mountains and also in Arizona and California. Its caterpillars eat Digitaria ischaemum and Ipomoea sagittata.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults are on wing May-September in the north, March-November in the south.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Found in North America east of the Rockies, plus Arizona and California.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 37 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Alabama, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Black-bordered Lemon Moth photo 3
Photo: Bill Keim, CC BY
Black-bordered Lemon Moth photo 4
Photo: unknown, CC0
Black-bordered Lemon Moth photo 5
Photo: Healthy Yards, CC BY
Black-bordered Lemon Moth photo 6
Photo: botanygirl, CC BY

Same family (Noctuidae)

Ipsilon Dart MothIpsilon Dart MothAgrotis ipsilonDamages trees, gardens or cropsFall Armyworm MothFall Armyworm MothSpodoptera frugiperdaDamages trees, gardens or cropsArmy Cutworm MothArmy Cutworm MothEuxoa auxiliarisDamages trees, gardens or cropsLarge Yellow UnderwingLarge Yellow UnderwingNoctua pronubaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSilver ΥSilver ΥAutographa gammaAmerican DaggerAmerican DaggerAcronicta americanaCan irritate skin

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marimatha_nigrofimbria

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.