Bug FAQBanded Scythris Moth
Scythris trivinctella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Scythrididae
Also called: Banded Scythris
The adult moth has a wingspan of about 11 to 12 millimetres. It occurs across North America, from New England down to Florida, across the Great Plains, west to Arizona and Utah, and north into southern British Columbia. The caterpillars feed on the plant Amaranthus hybridus.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan measures 11 to 12 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae eat Amaranthus hybridus.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Found throughout North America, from the northeastern United States down to Florida, across the central plains, into the southwestern states and up into southern British Columbia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 28 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri, Florida, New Mexico.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scythris_trivinctella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.