Red-patched Emerald

Nemoria saturiba · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae

Also called: Braided Emerald, Red-spotted Emerald

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Red-patched Emerald
Photo: laurawies, CC BY

The red-patched emerald moth has a wingspan of about 20 mm. It lives in the southeastern United States, from Florida up through North Carolina and as far north as Maryland. Its caterpillars feed on sweetgum trees (Liquidambar styraciflua).

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Wingspan is roughly 20 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae eat the leaves of sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua).

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 15 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Florida, Maryland.

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

Source: GBIF

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

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Red-patched Emerald photo 2
Photo: Laura Gaudette, CC BY
Red-patched Emerald photo 3
Photo: Sean Golden, CC BY
Red-patched Emerald photo 4
Photo: Laura Gaudette, CC BY
Red-patched Emerald photo 5
Photo: Amber M. King, CC BY

Same family (Geometridae)

Willow BeautyWillow BeautyPeribatodes rhomboidariaPale BeautyPale BeautyCampaea perlataDamages trees, gardens or cropsLarge Lace-border MothLarge Lace-border MothScopula limboundataDamages trees, gardens or cropsSouthern Pine and Cypress AnglesSouthern Pine and Cypress AnglesMacaria bicolorataRiband WaveRiband WaveIdaea aversataYellow Shell MothYellow Shell MothCamptogramma bilineata

Sources

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

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.

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.