Bug FAQWhite-fringed Emerald
Nemoria mimosaria · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae
Also called: White-fringed Emerald Moth
The white-fringed emerald (Nemoria mitosaria) is a moth in the Geometridae family. It has a wingspan of about 26 mm and flies in mid to late June. Its caterpillars feed on a variety of deciduous shrubs, trees and some conifers such as birch, fir, willow, alder and Myrica.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Nemoria mimosaria, called the white-fringed emerald or flanged looper, belongs to the Geometridae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The adult’s wingspan is roughly 26 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occurs from Nova Scotia west to southeastern Alberta and south to Virginia, Illinois and Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on many deciduous shrubs and trees and on conifers such as birch (Betula papyrifera), balsam fir (Abies balsamifera), willow, alder and Myrica asplenifolia.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from mid-June to late June.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes eastern Canada and the northern and central United States.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 29 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, North Carolina, Ohio.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the caterpillars eat?
The larvae feed on a range of deciduous shrubs and trees and on some conifers such as birch, fir, willow, alder and Myrica.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is this moth found?
It lives from Nova Scotia to southeastern Alberta and south to Virginia, Illinois and Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Geometridae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemoria_mimosaria
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.