BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Anarta edwardsii
Edwards' Beach Moth
| Scientific Name: | Anarta edwardsii (Smith, [1888]) | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Edwards' Beach Moth | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Hodges, R.W. et al., eds. 1983. Check List of the Lepidoptera of America North of Mexico. E.W. Classey Limited and The Wedge Entomological Research Foundation, London. 284 pp. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | In BC we have the nominate subspecies Anarta edwardsii edwardsii (COSEWIC 2009). | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | LE-ANAEDW | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | GNR | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S1 (Mar 2020) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Red | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | Endangered (May 2021) | ||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | 1 - Endangered (Feb 2011) | ||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | |||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Subspecies Comments: | Canadian populations are referable to the nominate subspecies, which occurs throughout most of its range (COSEWIC 2009). | ||||||||||
| Identification Comments: | Anarta edwardsii is a stocky medium-sized moth with a wingspan of 32-38mm. The head, thorax, abdomen, and antennae are uniform brown-grey. The forewing is relatively unmarked except for a prominent terminal line formed by a series of small black spots or wedges. The subterminal line is faint and rudimentary, comprised of a few black scales where the "line" crosses the veins. In most specimens the reniform spot is indicated by a few dark scales. The hindwings are bright white, crossed by a wide dark grey or dull black terminal band. Fringes are brown-grey on the forewings and white on the hindwings. Females tend to have darker forewings than males (COSEWIC 2009). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Reproduction Comments: | Reproduction coincides with the flight season (mid-May through July). Capture dates of adults in Canada indicate a single annual brood. There are no observations of mating, egg-laying, larval development, or pupation in BC/Canada (COSEWIC 2009). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Ecology Comments: | Dispersal abilities of A. edwardsii are unknown, however given that sandy habitats are often patchily distributed across a landscape it is likely that dispersal at this scale is frequent. Regional dispersal between more isolated habitats (>10km) is unlikely (COSEWIC 2009). | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / Y N / N N / N na / N |
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| Provincial Mobility & Migration Comments: | A. edwardsii is not known to migrate or otherwise undertake large scale movements on a regular basis (COSEWIC 2009). | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Provincial Habitat Comments: | Found in sparsely-vegetated sandy beach and beach dune habitats including sandy beaches adjacent to salt marshes. Substrates are medium-grained sand with vegetation cover from 5-35% (COSEWIC 2009). Throughout its range, coastal populations tend to be concentrated in island complexes and inlets rather then on exposed, high-energy outer beaches (COSEWIC 2009). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: | |||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Food Habits Comments: | Larval host plant(s) is unknown for this species (COSEWIC 2009). It is likely one or more native plant species from the family Chenopodeacea is the host, or perhaps one or more unrelated species, such as Abronia (COSEWIC 2009). | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Provincial Phenology Comments: | Adults fly from mid-May through July, in a single brood (COSEWIC 2009). Reproduction coincides with the flight season and adult moths likely die shortly after reproducing. There are no observations of mating, egg-laying, larval development, or pupation in BC/Canada (COSEWIC 2009). | ||||||||||
| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | Westereng, L.K. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Aug 28, 2009 | ||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
COSEWIC, 2009. COSEWIC status report on Anarta edwardsii (Edwards' Beach Moth) in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. iv+25pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. Species Summary: Anarta edwardsii. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 5, 2026).