Bug FAQAncylostomia stercorea
Ancylostomia stercorea · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Crambidae
Source: Wikipedia
Ancylostomia is a genus with a single snout-moth species, Ancylostomia stercorea, described in 1848. It occurs throughout southern Florida, southern Texas and many Caribbean and Central-South American islands and countries. The caterpillars feed inside the seed cavities of pigeonpea and related legumes, harming those crops.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Ancylostomia is a monotypic genus of snout moths.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) and on species of Cicer and Dolichos, boring into the seed cavity of the host plant.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults can be found flying throughout the entire year.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes southern Florida and southern Texas in the United States, plus many Caribbean islands and parts of Central and South America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 5 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What crops does Ancylostomia stercorea damage?
Its larvae bore into pigeonpea pods and also feed on Cicer and Dolichos species, harming those legume crops.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Crambidae)
Box Tree MothCydalima perspectalisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Celery Leaftier MothUdea rubigalis
Elegant Grass-veneerMicrocrambus elegans
Hawaiian Beet Webworm MothSpoladea recurvalisDamages trees, gardens or crops
Garden Grass-veneerChrysoteuchia culmellaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Bluegrass Webworm MothParapediasia teterrellusDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancylostomia
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-29 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-29.