Common Micromoths | Birders on the Road

Moths of the Lower Rio Grande Valley

Common Moths - Micromoths

A brown and white moth is sitting on a metal surface.

A small moth is sitting on a brick wall.

A small moth is sitting on a wooden surface.

A small brown moth is sitting on a white surface.

Acacia Webworm (Friseria acaciella)

A very small, dark moth with an obvious square-shaped white patch on the forewing. From above these patches appear to angle down towards the back. Some individuals can have a pale back, or appear very pale overall, but the white patch is still apparent. Recorded year-round.

A drawing of the state of texas with a green border.

Pink-washed Aristotelia (Aristotelia roseosuffusella)

An extremely tiny micromoth. This is a "best guess" ID, as aristotelias can be extremely variable, and even the experts are sometimes hesitant to go beyond genus level when assigning a name to an image! Recorded July - January.

A small black and white moth is sitting on a brown surface

Banded Scythris (Scythris trivinctella)

A member of the casebearer group of micromoths, this moth is easy to identify with its blackish-bronze body with three white bands across the wings. Recorded August - November.

A green map of texas with a white outline on a white background.

A close up of a moth with the number 12 on it

A small white moth with black spots is sitting on a wooden surface.

A white moth with black spots is sitting on a white surface

Bitten Ethmia (Ethmia bittenella)

White with black spots, this moth is easily identified by the expressive "clown face" on its back. Some individuals can be very worn (right) and thus hard to tell from other spotted ethmias. Recorded year-round, but less common in winter.

A black and white moth is sitting on a concrete surface.

A small black and white moth is sitting on a piece of wood.

Half-shadowed Ethmia (Ethmia semiombra)

There are several "skunk-patterned" micromoths, but this one shows a rather brindled off-white back, and a grayish "shadow" on the leading edge of the forewing. Note that there's a separation between the "shadow" and the pale spot on the apex of the forewing, which helps to separate it from the Bold-streaked Ethmia (Ethmia trifurcella). Recorded March-October.

A black and white moth is sitting on a wooden surface

A white moth with black stripes is sitting on a brick wall.

Ladder-backed Ethmia (Ethmia delliella)

Unmistakable: white with black bands and an orange terminal line bordered with dots. Recorded March-November.

Diamondback Moth (Plutella xylostella)

Another "skunk-patterned" moth, this bug is smaller than the ethmias, and holds his antennae out straight in front of him, adding to the attenuated look. Males (left) are dark brown to blackish, while females (right) are duller and less contrasting. Recorded year-round, but less common in summer.

A green map of texas with a black outline on a white background.

A small white moth is sitting on a wooden surface.

Gray Grass Tubeworm (Acrolophus griseus capitatus)

These pale, dark-splotched tubeworms went unidentified for many months until Paul Dennehy from BugGuide was able to nail them down as the capitatus race of the Gray Grass Tubeworm, which is very different from the nominate race! Even these bugs can be quite variable, from strongly marked (left) to quite pale! Capitatus is restricted to central and southern Texas, whereas the nominate race occurs in the southwest US. Recorded March-October.