Nemoria elfa Ferguson, 1969. [7029]
Nemoria elfa male, reared ex ovum from parent female collected from cypress swamp, Pocomoke State Forest, Worcester Co., MD, May 2008.
Nemoria elfa is a small species, similar in size to Synchlora aerata. It has been found from Maryland in the Mid-Atlantic through the Carolinas to Florida and west to Texas. Ferguson documented cool season forms that show varying degrees of brown coloration on the wings (see image below right), though these may be less common than the brown spring form of Nemoria bistriaria.
N. elfa has an unmarked green abdomen and noticeably wavy pm lines on forewing and hindwing. The wing ground color is often a pale shade of green even on fresh specimens that have been reared. It is frequently marked with distinct discal spots on all four wings.N. elfa larvae have been reported (Ferguson 1985) as being reared on sweetgum leaves (Liquidambar styraciflua), but the more common host plant appears to be baldcypress (Taxodium distichum). Wagner's Field Guide to Eastern caterpillars gives the species the name Cypress Emerald and reports baldcypress as the host plant. We have reared N. elfa successfully on both baldcypress and on oak, and also tested sweetgum and blueberry, these last two being only marginally successful at sustaining larval growth.
For additional images of immature stages of Nemoria elfa, click here: Nemoria elfa eggs, larvae and pupae.
N. elfa has an unmarked green abdomen and noticeably wavy pm lines on forewing and hindwing. The wing ground color is often a pale shade of green even on fresh specimens that have been reared. It is frequently marked with distinct discal spots on all four wings.N. elfa larvae have been reported (Ferguson 1985) as being reared on sweetgum leaves (Liquidambar styraciflua), but the more common host plant appears to be baldcypress (Taxodium distichum). Wagner's Field Guide to Eastern caterpillars gives the species the name Cypress Emerald and reports baldcypress as the host plant. We have reared N. elfa successfully on both baldcypress and on oak, and also tested sweetgum and blueberry, these last two being only marginally successful at sustaining larval growth.
For additional images of immature stages of Nemoria elfa, click here: Nemoria elfa eggs, larvae and pupae.
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Nemoria elfa, brown seasonal form. Collected Hancock Co., Mississippi, 21 December 1990. Collection of AMNH.
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